The Third Sector

Abstract

Summary of Key Points The third sector includes voluntary and community organizations, charities, social enterprises and cooperatives. It is broader than, but includes, what has traditionally been referred to as the voluntary and community sector. The third sector overlaps with the other sectors and in particular has a complex and changing relationship with the state. All voluntary organizations require funding and many have complex packages of finance from a range of different sources. In 2010 UK charity income was around £37 billion and had grown significantly over the previous decade. Voluntary organizations vary in aims and structure; they are thus uneven in their distribution and sometimes narrow in their focus. They do not guarantee a comprehensive approach to service provision. ‘Umbrella’ or infrastructure agencies play an important role in supporting and representing voluntary organizations and the sector more generally. Public support for the third sector from central and local government has continued despite the development of state welfare services. Voluntary organizations are being encouraged to bid to take over the delivery of some public services. Government policy has included active promotion of partnership working between the state and voluntary organizations, including the development of a formal Compact to govern relations and considerable investment of public resources to support capacity building and organizational development. The Coalition government sees voluntary and community organizations as a central part of its Big Society agenda in England, although state funding for the sector has been cut. Policy-making in the devolved administrations has largely developed on similar lines to that in England.