The black minority ethnic third sector: a resource paper

Contributing towards building a foundation of knowledge on the black minority ethnic (BME) third sector, this paper offers an introductory resource on research in this field. The paper begins with discussion on the (contested) concept of a BME third sector (BME TS) and the existing narrative of distinctiveness; it then goes on to highlight the importance of robust comparative analyses to identify empirical trends of difference between subsectors in order to examine the policy implications for the different subsectors. In an attempt to bring together a disparate collection of material on the BME third sector the remaining section of the paper provides brief overviews of material about different types of organisation that might constitute the BME TS in the broadest sense of the term. These include: refugee and asylum seeker organisations (RCOs), faith based organisations, diasporic immigrant community organisations, black organisations, gypsy and traveller organisations and multicultural organisations. In closing, the paper identifies gaps in the current research base that will be of interest to the wider research community and will inform TSRC's cross-cutting equality research programme

Micro-Mapping: what lies beneath the third sector radar?

Academic and policy discussion of the third sector has increasingly come to recognise the importance of locating and understanding the range of organised activity that is not captured by sources dependent upon existing registration and member lists of organisations – sometimes referred to as ‘below-the-radar’ activity. Research to identify such organised activity requires the development and implementation of innovative methods to search beneath the radar and map what is found. This article reports on research carried out using a ‘micro-mapping’ approach in two urban locations in England. This revealed a wide range of organisations that had not been captured by more traditional methods and found that they were engaged in a range of activities providing distinctive services and supports within their local communities. The research also revealed the critical role played by community bricoleurs and community hubs in supporting and sustaining many of these organisations. We conclude that this has important implications for research (in developing a new methodology for micro-mapping) and for policy (in revealing the range and structure of ‘below-the-radar’ activity)

First impressions: introducing the 'Real Times' third sector case studies

‘Real Times’ is the Third Sector Research Centre’s qualitative longitudinal study of third sector organisations, groups and activities. Over a three year period the study is following the fortunes, strategies, challenges and performance of a diverse set of fifteen ‘core’ case studies of third sector activity, and their relations with a number ‘complementary’ case studies. This report introduces the core case studies through summary sketches, and provides a descriptive account of the research up to the end of the first wave of fieldwork

History of membership associations, volunteering and the voluntary nonprofit sector

This chapter examines the history of the topics in its title, emphasizing the history of associations. Membership associations have been the most common type of nonprofit organization (NPO) in human history and remain so still today in all countries. Voluntary/nonprofit agencies with paid staff serving nonmembers and the general public are very recent social inventions, as are Volunteer Service Programs (see Chapter 29) and the voluntary sector concept. The chapter is structured around major historical periods in which associations have existed, beginning about 10,000 years ago, when many human societies settled down in villages from being small, nomadic, hunter-gathering bands. Thus, we discuss associations in (1) preliterate horticultural societies, (2) ancient agrarian societies, (3) recent pre-industrial societies, and (4) industrial and post-industrial societies

From the outside in: narratives of creative arts practitioners working in the criminal justice system

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Wiley-Blackwell in The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice on 31/12/2019, available online: https://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12318 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.The penal voluntary sector is highly variegated in its roles, practices and functions, though research to date has largely excluded the experiences of front-line practitioners. We argue that engaging with the narratives of practitioners can provide fuller appreciation of the potential of the sector’s work. Though life story and narrative have been recognised as important in offender desistance (Maruna, 2001), the narrative identities of creative arts practitioners, who are important ‘change agents’ (Albertson, 2015), are typically absent. This is despite evidence to suggest that a practitioner’s life history can be a significant and positive influence in the rehabilitation of offenders (Harris, 2017). Using narratological analysis (Bal, 2009), this study examined the narratives of 19 creative practitioners in prisons in England and Wales. Of particular interest were the formative experiences of arts practitioners in their journey to prison work. The findings suggest that arts practitioners identify with an ‘outsider’ status and may be motivated by an ethic of mutual aid. In the current climate of third sector involvement in the delivery of criminal justice interventions, such a capacity may be both a strength and weakness for arts organisations working in this field

Little big societies: micro-mapping of organisations operating below the radar

This paper reports on research to develop and implement an innovative methodology to find and map what lies beneath the third sector radar. By using and adapting tools used in the 1990s for the well-recognised work of LOVAS (Local Voluntary Activity Surveys) we sought to identify all community activities in two small local areas of England. This revealed a diverse range of 58 self-organised activities going on in and around 11 streets of England – groups that do not appear on regulatory listings and thus tend not be included in wider statistical trend analyses on the third sector. Six ‘types’ of below-groups were identified from the study. Most were embedded into their local community and operated within a very specific socio-cultural context delivering services to their immediate local communities. Our findings also revealed a combination of ways in which groups obtain resources from their own users by ‘tapping in’, and obtaining resources from others, ‘tapping out’. In addition, the work shows that several of these groups are also distributing resources to others, ‘giving out’. The findings also highlight the importance of the opportunities arising from publically shared-spaces and the support from paid and unpaid staff operating in the buildings that they use

Understanding the distinctiveness of small scale, third sector activity: the role of local knowledge and networks in shaping below the radar actions

‘Below the radar’ has become a short-hand term for small community groups who are either not registered with the Charity Commission or other regulatory bodies and or are registered but lack a regular, substantial annual income. Much of the existing research into the Third Sector has focused on formal, larger, organisations leaving gaps in the knowledge base around the nature and function of small groups and more informal activities which happen at a community level. The following working paper is based on interviews with representatives from national community sector organisations, development agencies, members of policy fora and academics with a background in community based research. It explores the scale, scope and functions of ‘below the radar’ activity in the Third Sector, why people become active within their community and the factors which both help and hinder community based action. Finally the paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of ‘below the radar’ action, issues of accountability and asks the question – are their features that make more informal community organisation and activity distinctive