Abstract
In recent years ‘third way’ style governments have sought to partner with third sector organisations in ‘joined up’ government. The neo-liberal basis for the third way model has sought to make government’s community collaborators more professional in their approach. This has been achieved by influencing third sector organisations to adopt quasi-business models of organisational practice and accountability.While the rationale for promoting these practices has resulted from a desire to afford third sector organisations a level of social efficacy similar to that of the professions. an increasing number of researchers (Aimers & Walker, 2008; Mulgan, 2006; Barr, 2005; Craig, 2004; Walker, 2002) have argued that business or quasi-business models are not always appropriate measures of success for the work of the third sector.We argue that with the growing emphasis on government and third sector partnerships, the relationship between the third sector and its communities is at risk of being overlooked due to the lack of insistence that such organisation should seek direction setting from local communities. One of the core characteristics of the third sector has been its embeddedness within its community. If organisations become more focused on their relationship with the state, at the expense of their community relationships, they risk overlooking a core part of their identity and purpose. We believe that community-based directional accountability provides a basis from which effective community relationships can grow.In this article we discuss how partnering with government has put community relationships of third sector community organisations at risk and offer three models of community accountability derived from real-life examples, which such organisations could use to help retain and strengthen their community embeddedness.
Highlights
The traditional strength of community third sector organisations has been their embeddedness within their local communities
Neo-liberalism in NZ New Zealand has had a long history of collaborative working in the community and social service arena by community third sector agencies
By the late 1990s, New Zealand had entered what Larner & Craig (2005, p. 407) describe as the ‘third phase of neo-liberalism’
Summary
The traditional strength of community third sector organisations has been their embeddedness within their local communities. AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND SOCIAL WORK looked, and eroded, by joining up with government to meet governmental rather than community priorities If this occurs, are community third sector organisations at risk of losing their self-determination, but government funders are in danger of losing the very thing that makes the community third sector so effective at delivering community services, namely their embeddedness within their communities. There is much discussion in the literature (Alford and Hughes, 2007; Mulgan, 2006; Stoker, 2006) as to the nature of accountability relationships between government and contracted organisations, but little practical discussion as to how community accountability relationships can be formed and strengthened To overcome this gap we offer three models of community accountability that we have observed operating in New Zealand organisations, offering these models as a practical adjunct for organisations wishing to retain their relationship with their communities in this complex new environment
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