Nonprofit Organizations and the Changing Welfare State

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

The welfare states in many advanced industrial countries are in significant transition as countries strive to cope with scarce public and private resources; increasing demand for community services; the inclusion of new and diverse populations; a shift away from income support toward service support; and higher expectations for consumer and user choice in services and providers. These evolving important trends are transforming the role of nonprofit service agencies in the social safety net. Nonprofit service agencies are now often coping with greater competition for resources and struggling with their capacity and infrastructure. Government for its part is often faced with a fragmented service system, with many local nonprofit community agencies, where it is often challenging to develop an integrated, coordinated response to complex social problems. Moreover, governments, citizens, private foundations, and individual donors are expecting much higher levels of performance and accountability from nonprofit organizations. Public and private funders are now exhorted to be “investors “ and to expect positive results and measurable impact. Government funders have also shifted many contracts to be performance-based with funding and reimbursement tied to the attainment of specific outcomes. This panel brings together scholars focusing on the rapidly changing role of nonprofit organizations in the welfare state. Moreover, it brings together four paper presenters from quite different countries, allowing important comparative perspectives on key trends and trends and developments affecting nonprofit service organizations including their governance, programs, and advocacy activities.

Sub Unit

• Governance, Management Adaptation and Sustainability of Third Sector Organizations

Chair

• Steven Rathgeb Smith, American Political Science Association

Individual Presentations

• The Path-Dependent Role of Third Sector Organizations in Local Housing Systems - Danielle Gluns, University of Muenster

• Transforming Human Service Delivery Systems: A Place-based Approach - Rachel Laforest, Queen's University

• State and Civil Society – A Regime Change? - Per Selle, University of Bergen

• Managing Nonprofit Human Services in an Era of Performance Management and Competition - Steven Rathgeb Smith, American Political Science Association

Session Organizer

• Steven Rathgeb Smith, American Political Science Association