1. Third Sector Futures
Dialogues hosted by TSRC
The worst of times?
Rob Macmillan
Third Sector Research Centre
University of Birmingham

2. Third Sector Futures - why?
• A radical upheaval in the sector’s environment, yet…
much of the third sector’s conversation appears to be focused
on questions of organisational survival and resilience. There
seems to be precious little overall discussion of the deeper
question of what the sector is in the process of becoming, or
what role it should play through and beyond the contemporary
politics of austerity. There appears to be no sustained sector-
wide conversation about the potential transformation
underway.
Macmillan/McLaren: ‘Third sector leadership: the power of narrative’
(TSRC Working Paper No. 76, March 2012)
• An evidence-informed strategic debate

3. About ‘Third Sector Futures’
Five headline issues:
1.The worst of times?
2.No longer a ‘voluntary’ sector?
3.Is the third sector so special? What is it worth?
4.Is the third sector being overwhelmed by the state and the market?
5.A strategic lead for the third sector?
Process:
•Discussion papers, on line discussion and seminars
•Sounding board and further feedback
•Autumn 2012 to Spring 2013
•http://thirdsectorfutures.org.uk/
•Please join the discussion!

4. A great unsettlement?
A third sector in transition?
•economic context – (double) impact of recession, austerity and
cuts – crisis, mixed picture and a phoney war?
•political context and priorities – Coalition and ‘Big Society’ as a
(partial) decoupling of sector and state?
•‘Shaking-out’ - contraction and closure? enough room for
everyone?
•‘Shaking-up’ - organisations being more ‘enterprising’,
demonstrating value and greater consolidation
What is an ‘unsettlement’?
•Where resources, relationships, approaches and understandings
called into question (Fligstein and McAdam 2012)
•Continuity and change – compared to what?

5. Headlines from the numbers
• The third sector workforce has been growing, but now under
threat
• Expenditure cuts could threaten third sector organisations,
especially in areas of high social and economic deprivation
• There are geographical and social inequalities in voluntary
action

6. Workforce composition

7. Distribution of public funding

8. Where is the civic core?

9. ‘a large, local information, rights and
Wave
advice organisation ‘
4 Building new political alliances – new well Birch…
Jul-Aug ’12 connected Chair; outsourcing; fundraising and
stakeholder development
• A story of struggle
3 Reprieve – successful bid for less basic around transition
Sept-Oct ’11 funding; redundancies and partial closure;
restructuring and changing role of volunteers
• High service demand
and pressure
2 Survival crisis – LA reviews provision and cuts
Feb-Apr ’11 basic funding; transition funding; re- • Vulnerability to
commissioning for less; competition amongst expenditure cuts and
advice providers
new priorities
1 Stable - Annual surplus to ‘weather the storm’
Mar-Jun ’10 and service development; anticipating • Crowded
outsourcing opportunities; bidding in
partnership for specialist contract
competitive field
Pre-Wave 1 • Relatively secure funding through LA
grants and contracts, plus additional
specialist contracts and project grants

10. Timescales of transition…
Fast
Oh God! Where are we now, where are we now? We’re in a position now
that the Council has effectively cut the voluntary sector advice funding by
more than 50%. We have managed to gain £300,000 which is £350,000
less than we need to operate our basic service….
Steps towards ‘transition’
•change – more volunteers, trained up to take on more responsibilities;
developing more support/donations from businesses
•continuity – plugging gaps; keeping services going; laying down funds
Slow
we are a different animal now than we were 12 months ago. We would
not have focused on half the things that we’ve focused on. We’re not as
good as we need to be, and that’s what I mean about it takes a long time
to change.

11. Implications/questions
• Experience of change: what kinds of changes in the funding and
policy environment are organisations facing? How are these
affecting organisations, the causes they represent and the people
with whom they work?
• Diverse experiences: How is the changing environment affecting
different kinds of organisation (large, medium-sized and small
organisations, those working in different fields, or operating in
different parts of the country)?
• Changing expectations: To what extent will changing expectations
of the sector's role threaten the underlying values and identity of
particular organisations?
• Future shape of the sector: Is the sector facing a ‘shake out’ and/or
a ‘shake up’, and what will be the shape of the sector in the future?