Collaborating with the public sector – a three-layered explanation

• In Event: Civil Society and Collaboration with the State and the Market

Abstract

The collaboration between the state and the nonprofit sector is defined by many different things in many different situations. This paper will, through categorisation and sorting, provide typologies where different types of collaborations under different conditions are established. The categorisation and sorting will take place on three levels, from the broadest possible view on collaboration to the more specific. Firstly, the chapter will present some different ways in which the state and the nonprofit sector relate to each other as broad spheres of society. This level of analysis will be aided by some well-known theories on the social origins of civil society (Salamon et al., 2017). Secondly, the chapter moves on to describe the various ways in which public administration organisations relates to nonprofit organisations (NPOs). This level is assisted by theory and research on what is known as Public Administration Regimes (PARs) (Osborne, 2010; Pestoff, 2018; 2019). Thirdly, and lastly, the focus is further narrowed to capture some different modes of collaboration found around the world. This mapping exercise is carried out using research that help put these different modes of collaboration into a typology, which will be elaborated on in the paper.
The chapter will conclude in a discussion of how these three levels and their typologies may interact to shape collaboration between the public and the nonprofit sectors. The conclusions show that such collaborations are becoming increasingly important, but also increasingly diverse and complex in nature.

References:
Osborne, S. P. (2010). The New Public Governance - emerging perspectives on the theory and practice of public governance. Routledge.
Pestoff, V. (2019). Co-production and public service management – citizenship, governance and public service management. Routledge.
Pestoff, V. (2018). Co-production at the crossroads of public administration regimes. In T. Brandsen, T. Steen & B. Vershuere (Eds.), Co-production and co-creation – engaging citizens in public services (pp. 27-36). Routledge.
Salamon, L. M., Sokolowski, S. W., & Haddock, M. A. (2017). Explaining civil society development: A social origins approach. JHU Press.

Author

• Johan Vamstad, Marie Cederschiöld University