Voluntary Sector Organizations and the State: Building New Relations

Rachel Laforest

Published by University of British Columbia Press 2011

Voluntary Sector Organizations and the State

Building New Relations

Rachel Laforest

https://doi.org/10.59962/9780774821469

Overview
Contents

About this book

A deft account of the developments and strategies that transformed voluntary organizations into a distinct political constituency with a strong voice in public policy.

In the early 1990s, voluntary organizations garnered little attention in Canadian policy circles, even though the federal government was simultaneously offloading its responsibility for essential services to the sector and cutting back their funding. Two decades later, the voluntary sector is a key public policy player in federal, provincial, and municipal politics.

Rachel Laforest shows why this turnaround represents a significant shift in the way citizens and policy makers view the place of voluntary organizations in public policy. Members of voluntary organizations have struggled for a stronger voice in policy making and redefined their relationship to the federal government through key collaborations such as the Voluntary Sector Initiative. This deft account of how a loose coalition of voluntary organizations was transformed into a distinct sector offers a new conceptual framework for explaining dynamic state-voluntary sector relations at all levels of government.

Author / Editor information

Rachel Laforest is an associate professor and head of the Public Policy and Third Sector Initiative in the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University.

Reviews

? Caroline Andrew, co-editor of Electing a Diverse Canada: The Representation of Immigrants, Minorities, and Women:

�Laforest�s book makes a major contribution to the study of state-voluntary sector relations, linking the work on public policy and civil society. It gives a true sense of the dynamics of the voluntary sector, bringing together policy sectors, internal organizational shifts, and federal government processes. In addition, the author tells a Canadian story in ways that make clear its relation to worldwide shifts in governance.�

? Alexandra Dobrowolsky, editor of Women and Public Policy in Canada: Neoliberalism and After?:

�After years of disparaging most non-state actors as pesky �special interest groups,� the Liberal government embraced certain �third sector� organizations as useful state �partners.� Laforest carefully details how and why this shift in state-voluntary sector relations took place. Her book offers important empirical and analytical insights into this period in Canadian politics and perceptively suggests why it contrasts with, but also lays the foundation for, the subsequent Conservative government�s approach to the voluntary sector.�

Topics

Front Matter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	x
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
The Changing Relationship between the State and the Voluntary Sector Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Theorizing the Relationship between the State and the Voluntary Sector Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	12
Laying the Foundation for Collaboration: The Canadian Case Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	26
Building Identity and Agency in the Voluntary Sector: From Strategy to Action Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
Designing a Blueprint for Collaboration: Looking at the Big Picture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
Organizational Dynamics and the Impact of Collaboration Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
Conclusions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
Appendix 1 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
Appendix 2 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	136
Appendix 3 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	138
Appendix 4 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	140
Appendix 5 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	142
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	144
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	148
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161

Language: English
Publisher: University of British Columbia Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 192

eBook

Published: November 1, 2011
ISBN: 9780774821469