Social Sector Organizations Research Articles

Impact Investing in Social Sector Organizations: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

Impact investing has great potential to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by financing the growth of social sector organizations. This paper conducts a systematic literature review to develop cumulative insights into impact investing in social sector organizations. It identifies four streams of impact investing research – impact investment decision making, impact evaluation in impact investing, behavioral issues in impact investing, and impact investing ecosystem. This paper also identifies nine main research focus areas within these research streams and discusses key insights into each of them. Finally, building on prior research, this article offers a comprehensive future research agenda.

Combating climate change through collaborations? Lessons learnt from one of the biggest failures in environmental entrepreneurship

Responses to climate change have shifted significantly towards renewable energy, even while progress remains slower than predicted. Improving advances here requires joint efforts by private, public and social sector organizations. Yet, many of these collaborations fail or fall short of their potential. This in-depth case study of the electric vehicle infrastructure provider Better Place finds that creating successful stakeholder commitment across sectors has a paradoxical outcome. While collaboration allows for resource mobilization and legitimacy creation as theorized in prior literature, this contribution uncovers two types of tension related to gaining stakeholder commitment which lead to negative organizational outcomes: flexibility-stakeholder commitment tensions and learning-stakeholder commitment tensions. The article contributes to environmental entrepreneurship literature by showing how successful partnership creation can limit the creation of sustainable solutions to extensive environmental challenges; and it proposes how new forms of organizing can assist environmental entrepreneurs in creating the impact they wish to achieve.

The contribution of the voluntary sector to mental health crisis care: a mixed-methods study

BackgroundWeaknesses in the provision of mental health crisis support are evident and improvements that include voluntary sector provision are promoted. There is a lack of evidence regarding the contribution of the voluntary sector and how this might be used to the best effect in mental health crisis care.AimTo investigate the contribution of voluntary sector organisations to mental health crisis care in England.DesignMultimethod sequential design with a comparative case study.SettingEngland, with four case studies in North England, East England, the Midlands and London.MethodThe method included a scoping literature review, a national survey of 1612 voluntary sector organisations, interviews with 27 national stakeholders and detailed mapping of the voluntary sector organisation provision in two regions (the north and south of England) to develop a taxonomy of voluntary sector organisations and to select four case studies. The case studies examined voluntary sector organisation crisis care provision as a system through interviews with local stakeholders (n = 73), eight focus groups with service users and carers and, at an individual level, narrative interviews with service users (n = 47) and carers (n = 12) to understand their crisis experience and service journey. There was extensive patient and public involvement in the study, including service users as co-researchers, to ensure validity. This affected the conduct of the study and the interpretation of the findings. The quality and the impact of the involvement was evaluated and commended.Main findingsA mental health crisis is considered a biographical disruption. Voluntary sector organisations can make an important contribution, characterised by a socially oriented and relational approach. Five types of relevant voluntary sector organisations were identified: (1) crisis-specific, (2) general mental health, (3) population-focused, (4) life-event-focused and (5) general social and community voluntary sector organisations. These voluntary sector organisations provide a range of support and have specific expertise. The availability and access to voluntary sector organisations varies and inequalities were evident for rural communities; black, Asian and minority ethnic communities; people who use substances; and people who identified as having a personality disorder. There was little evidence of well-developed crisis systems, with an underdeveloped approach to prevention and a lack of ongoing support.LimitationsThe survey response was low, reflecting the nature of voluntary sector organisations and demands on their time. This was a descriptive study, so evaluating outcomes from voluntary sector organisation support was beyond the scope of the study.ConclusionsThe current policy discourse frames a mental health crisis as an urgent event. Viewing a mental health crisis as a biographical disruption would better enable a wide range of contributory factors to be considered and addressed. Voluntary sector organisations have a distinctive and important role to play. The breadth of this contribution needs to be acknowledged and its role as an accessible alternative to inpatient provision prioritised.Future workA whole-system approach to mental health crisis provision is needed. The NHS, local authorities and the voluntary sector should establish how to effectively collaborate to meet the local population’s needs and to ensure the sustainability of the voluntary sector. Service users and carers from all communities need to be central to this.FundingThis project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research programme and will be published in full inHealth Services and Delivery Research; Vol. 8, No. 29. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Отношение к чаепитию как маркер профессионализации сообщества третьего сектора в Санкт-Петербурге

На основе исследования «профессионализации» НКО – процесса бюрократизации, возникновения «экспертного знания» и сообщества третьего сектора – статья рассматривает распространение культуры чаепитий в России с точки зрения ее значения для деятельности НКО. Ставится вопрос о том, как культура потребления чая рассматривается в дискуссиях об активном долголетии (active ageing) и построении идентичности сообщества третьего сектора. Данные об отношении к чаепитиям получены в результате качественного социологического исследования 16 НКО, занимающихся оказанием негосударственной заботы и социальных услуг людям старшего возраста в Санкт-Петербурге. На основе полуструктурированных интервью, включенных наблюдений и анализа документов приводятся аргументы, свидетельствующие, что профессионализированные НКО – небольшое и относительно закрытое сообщество, связанное общими проектами, идеологией («активного старения») и представлениями об организационной деятельности, рассматривают чаепития через призму «бесполезности» для развития третьего сектора и «гражданской культуры» в России. Чаепития воспринимаются своеобразной оппозицией такой культуре, выступая в роли примера крайней степени «неэффективности», «неустойчивости», т. е. всего того, против чего выступают профессионализированные НКО. Основной темой статьи является место чаепития как социальной услуги в дискурсе о «хорошей заботе» среди НКО, оказывающих социальные услуги пожилым людям (на примере Санкт-Петербурга). Чаепитие в данном случае выступает характерной и распространенной формой социальных услуг, отношение к которой существенно отличается среди представителей НКО в зависимости от степени их вовлеченности в профессиональное сообщество. Cделан вывод о том, что использование чаепитий (как социальных услуг для людей старшего возраста) в деятельности НКО является своеобразным водоразделом, по которому профессиональное сообщество третьего сектора судит о принадлежности или непринадлежности организаций третьего сектора к «профессиональному» сообществу. В заключении предлагаются несколько направлений для потенциальных исследований практик чаепития с точки зрения изучения гражданского общества и трансформации политической культуры.

Voices of the Social Sector

The prevalence of HCI research carried out with nonprofit organizations has increased dramatically over the past 35 years. Despite this history and our accumulating understanding of social sector organizations and their diverse stakeholders’ use of technology, there have not yet been any systematic reviews of this body of research. Before making more holistic claims about what this body of knowledge might suggest for a research agenda moving forward, we carry out a systematic literature review to characterize the systemic biases that are present as a result of the varying degrees of inclusion or exclusion of the voices of different groups of stakeholders. Building off of the results of our analysis, we contribute a framework of Analytic Charismas for more broadly engaging in reflexivity as a discipline.

Do the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals matter for social entrepreneurial ventures? A bottom-up perspective

Research on societal grand challenges has become a major theme in management research. Societal grand challenges require joint efforts by private, public, and social sector organizations and are described in the framework of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One major contributor to this framework are social entrepreneurial ventures. Aligning their interventions and indicators with the SDGs can provide them with great benefits such as facilitating resource mobilization and increasing legitimacy among stakeholders. The majority of research on SDGs tends to understand the SDG framework as inherently good, as a powerful compass and narrative to create social value and take action. However, taking-for-granted that social entrepreneurial ventures readily materialize the SDGs seems to neglect the question of whether they accept the framework and how an utilization may differ among them. Drawing on qualitative interviews of 15 social entrepreneurial ventures, we address this gap and identify three distinct types of SDG utilization, namely SDG evangelism, SDG opportunism, and SDG denial. Our study contributes to research on the intersection of social entrepreneurship and societal grand challenges by uncovering the roles of resourcefulness and deviance in SDG utilization. Furthermore, we identify trust between the United Nations and social entrepreneurial ventures as a determinat for SDG utilization and provide several practical implications.

Field-Testing and Refinement of the Organisational Health Literacy Responsiveness Self-Assessment (Org-HLR) Tool and Process.

Health literacy refers to the skills and knowledge that influence a person’s ability to access, understand and use information to make health-related decisions, which are influenced by the complexity of their health needs and the demands health services place on them. The aim of this study was to field-test the Organisational Health Literacy Responsiveness (Org-HLR) tool and process to determine their utility in assessing health literacy responsiveness and for supporting organisations to plan health literacy-related improvement activities. Four organisations in Victoria, Australia, field-tested the Org-HLR tool. Data were collected through direct observation, participant feedback, and focus groups. Forty-three individuals participated in field-testing activities, and 20 took part in focus group meetings. Themes relating to the applicability and utility of the Org-HLR self-assessment tool and process were identified. Field-testing resulted in a number of refinements to the tool and process. Twenty-eight indicators were removed, 29 were rephrased to improve their clarity, and four new indicators were added. The revised Org-HLR self-assessment tool contains six dimensions, 22 sub-dimensions and 110 performance indicators. The Org-HLR tool and process were perceived as useful for assessing health literacy responsiveness, prioritising improvement activities, and establishing a benchmark for monitoring and evaluation of improvements over time. Testing generated an improved Org-HLR tool and assessment process that are likely to have utility across a broad range of health and social service sector organisations.

Keynote

The value delivered by design thinking is almost always seen to be improvements in the creativity and usefulness of the solutions produced. This paper takes a broader view of the potential power of design thinking, highlighting its role as a social technology for enhancing the productivity of conversations for change across difference. Examined through this lens, design thinking can be observed to aid diverse sets of stakeholders’ abilities to work together to both produce higher order, more innovative solutions and to implement them more successfully. In this way, it acts as a facilitator of the processes of collectives, by enhancing their ability to learn, align and change together. This paper draws on both the author’s extensive field research on the use of design thinking in social sector organizations, as well as on the literature of complex social systems, to discuss implications for both practitioners and scholars interested in assessing the impact of design thinking on organizational performance.

Problem Framing Expertise in Public and Social Innovation

Public and social sector organizations are increasingly turning to innovation as a way to address the complex problems that society is facing. Design practice has already contributed significantly to public and social innovation, but to be effective at the public and social systems level, these practices must be adapted. This study investigates how five public and social innovation agencies adapted and used the core design practice of problem framing to address complex problems in society. The frames evolved according to nonlinear patterns through the co-evolution of problem and solution spaces. Practitioners adapted their framing practices to suit the complex social contexts by applying systemic design principles, pursuing multiple solutions and problem frames, and operationalizing wider research and thinking methods that align with the complex nature of each specific challenge. I argue that such practices require high-level expertise, and that capability building in public and social innovation should consider these emerging practices and levels of expertise.

How to Mobilize Philanthropy to Advance Racial Equity? A Call to Action

Only 3% of the 1,904 submissions to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s historic competition for a single grant of US$100 million, 100&Change, proposed work to address racial equity in the United States. Through a close examination of these submissions, this 2018 Samuel V. Westerfield lecture presents a taxonomy of the work of nonprofits working to address racial equity and an analysis of the weaknesses in their submitted applications. The lecture concludes these applications would have been stronger if there were greater engagement between social sector organizations and academic economists. The lecture issues a call to action for economists to communicate beyond an academic audience, to form partnerships with nonprofit organizations, and to move beyond applied economics to translational economics.

Social Value Chains: A New Organizational Framework for Studies on State-Society Relations in China

In the past three decades, many studies have emerged to conceptualize the changing state-society relations in China. Yet, less attention has been paid to what kinds of social sector organizations these competing or conflicting studies were empirically examining. This lack of a synthesis of the organizational foundations of these studies has resulted in fragmentation and weak generalization of the arguments on Chinese state-society relations. To address this issue, this article systematically reviews the organizational bases in the extant literature on the Chinese state-society relations. It then constructs an inclusive organizational framework, social value chains (SVCs), for future research by combining two mainstream organizational forms in extant research with two understudied organizational types. This new organizational framework includes four types of social sector organizations: infrastructure organizations, financial organizations, support organizations, and operating organizations. This article concludes by revealing potential applications of the new organizational framework to guide future research on state-society relations in China.

Insights for Measuring Social Value: Classification of Measures Related to the Capabilities Approach

The measurement of performance and the evaluation of social change efforts are vital yet challenging issues for practitioners and researchers in the social sector. Although tools exist to measure social value, they tend to focus on converting non-monetary costs and benefits into monetary terms to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of operations. The capabilities approach provides a value-based alternative that could potentially enable a broader assessment of a project’s impact; this approach encapsulates societal-level factors, beneficiary perspectives, and a more holistic view of a beneficiary’s life. Ultimately, our goal is to raise the following question in the social sector field: what might a capabilities approach to social value measurement that is suitable for practical application by social sector organizations look like? The purpose of this article is to introduce the theoretical framework and to present what some of the measures and instruments might look like, at least in part, based on applications in other contexts.

A comparison of the policy and institutional environment relevant to community-based primary health care in Ontario, Quebec and New Zealand

Introduction: Community-based primary health care (CBPHC) describes a model of service provision that is oriented to the population health needs and wants of service users and communities, and has particular relevance to supporting the growing proportion of the population with multiple chronic conditions. Internationally, aspirations for CBPHC have stimulated local initiatives and influenced the design of policy solutions. However, the ways in which these ideas and influences find their way into policy and practice is strongly mediated by policy settings and institutional path dependencies. This paper compares key features of the policy and institutional environments relevant to community-based primary health care in Ontario, Quebec and New Zealand. Theory/Methods: Drawing on existing literature and our collective expertise, we sought to identify the key organisational landscapes, service models, integrating mechanisms, and relevant policy developments within each jurisdiction. From these descriptions we develop a comparative analysis of enablers and facilitators. Results: Our analysis suggests that Ontario has the most significant institutional barriers to organisational integration and the fewest available policy levers, whilst New Zealand has the most conducive organisational landscape and strongest policy levers. Quebec has significant capacity for reform the structure of the health system, but reforms to date these have not incorporated primary health care. Conclusions: (comprising key findings) Our analysis suggests that two key conditions include the integration of relevant health and social sector organisations, and the range of policy levers available and used by governments. On both dimensions, the New Zealand environment appears to offer the largest scope, with Ontario’s environment significantly less conducive, with Quebec situated in between. Nevertheless, in each case there remain important institutional barriers to implementation of policies that promote CBPHC. Lessons Learned: Although New Zealand has more powerful policy levers, the effectiveness of levers is largely dependent on implementation strategies. Here the differences between New Zealand, Quebec and Ontario are less marked. Limitations: This research constitutes a preliminary, high-level understanding of the complex policy environments of three comparable policy and institutional environments. However, the degree to which the factors identified are key facilitators and inhibitors of CBPHC requires empirical investigation such that other significant policy and institutional constraints and enablers can be identified. Suggestions for Future Research: This research serves to inform the broader iCoach research collaboration, which investigates a range of specific local CBPHC initiatives and embedded practices that focus on older adults with complex conditions. Moving forward our research will focus on the analysis of key stakeholder interviews conducted within Ontario, Quebec and New Zealand to identify key institutional and policy settings that may enable and constrain the implementation and diffusion of these initiatives.

How do Policy and Institutional Settings Shape Opportunities for Community-Based Primary Health Care? A Comparison of Ontario, Québec and New Zealand.

Community-based primary health care describes a model of service provision that is oriented to the population health needs and wants of service users and communities, and has particular relevance to supporting the growing proportion of the population with multiple chronic conditions. Internationally, aspirations for community-based primary health care have stimulated local initiatives and influenced the design of policy solutions. However, the ways in which these ideas and influences find their way into policy and practice is strongly mediated by policy settings and institutional legacies of particular jurisdictions. This paper seeks to compare the key institutional and policy features of Ontario, Québec and New Zealand that shape the ‘space available’ for models of community-based primary health care to take root and develop. Our analysis suggests that two key conditions are the integration of relevant health and social sector organisations, and the range of policy levers that are available and used by governments. New Zealand has the most favourable conditions, and Ontario the least favourable. All jurisdictions, however, share a crucial barrier, namely the ‘barbed-wire fence’ that separates funding of medical and ‘non-medical’ primary care services, and the clear interests primary care doctors have in maintaining this fence. Moves in the direction of system-wide community-based primary health care require a gradual dismantling of this fence.

Social Marketisation and Policy Influence of Third Sector Organisations: Evidence from the UK

The marketisation of social sector organisations or social marketisation emerged and spread around the world in the past three decades. In contrast with existing literature which claims that social marketisation makes social sector organisations reduce their efforts on advocacy and thus harms a civil society, this research argues that social marketisation is positively contributed to the influence of third sector organisations on government policies, and thus it strengthens civil society, rather than erodes it. Based on the National Survey of Charities and Social Enterprises in the UK, the results of regression analyses indicate clearly that, when other factors are equal, the two indicators of social marketisation, social entrepreneurship and achieving government contracts for purchasing services, are both statistically significant in estimating the level of policy influence of third sector organisations. The contribution of this research is that it finds a positive, instead of a negative, relationship between social marketisation and the perceived policy influence of third sector organisations.

The role of Social Report for performance measurement of museums: an Italian survey from the web

This paper aims to explore the concept of performance in the museum field, in particular whether and how it could find an adequate representation through social reporting tools. The social reports, indeed, in non-profit and public sector organisations are typically considered the main tools for institutional communication. To investigate on this topic, we analyse the social reports of some Italian museums using the content analysis in order to understand how the performance is evaluated and communicated. The empirical findings show how the reports are not fully able to represent the performance of the museums.

Functional analysis of organizational designs

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe an analytical approach – functional analysis – that can be used to evaluate the current design of an organization and identify alternative designs that may increase the ability to realize strategic and operational goals. Design/methodology/approach The approach described in this paper is based on key concepts in systems theory and axiomatic design theory (Suh, 1990, 2001). A brief case example is used to illustrate the practical application of the approach. Findings It is shown that functional analysis can be used to map the design of an organization and identify key design challenges (e.g. related to overlapping or conflicting functions). Research limitations/implications The case study that is described is considered to be a pilot application of the approach as it is based on a limited number of interviews. Practical implications This paper should be relevant for applied researchers, management consultants, project managers and others who are analyzing the current structure of an organization and/or are involved in re-designing an organization. Social implications Application of the functional approach may improve design processes and thereby enhance the effectiveness of social systems, including public and private sector organizations. Originality/value This paper describes how key concepts in systems theory and axiomatic design theory can provide the basis for a new framework for analyzing organization designs.

Stimulating Innovation within Social Sector Organizations: The Application of Design Thinking

In an era of diminishing resources available to social service agencies and increasingly complex social problems, it has become almost imperative that the leaders of nonprofit organizations search for new strategies and solutions. This article discusses a pilot project which utilized experiential learning about design thinking to stimulate innovation in social sector organizations. Results suggest that even limited exposure to design thinking can lead to changes in individual capacity for innovation and increased work engagement. Implications for nonprofit management and the potential for intrapreneurial paths to innovation are discussed.

What’s in a Name: An Analysis of Impact Investing Understandings by Academics and Practitioners

Recently, there has been much talk of impact investing. Around the world, specialized intermediaries have appeared, mainstream financial players and governments have become involved, renowned universities have included impact investing courses in their curriculum, and a myriad of practitioner contributions have been published. Despite all this activity, conceptual clarity remains an issue: The absence of a uniform definition, the interchangeable use of alternative terms and unclear boundaries to related concepts such as socially responsible investment are being criticized. This article aims to contribute to a better understanding of impact investing, which could help foster this specific investment style and guide further academic research. To do so, it investigates a large number of academic and practitioner works, highlighting areas of similarity and inconsistency on three levels: definitional, terminological, and strategic. Our research shows that, on a general level, heterogeneity—especially definitional and strategic—is less pronounced than expected. Yet, our research also reveals critical issues that need to be clarified to advance the field and increase its credibility. First and foremost, this includes the characteristics required of impact investees, notably whether they need to be (social sector) organizations that prioritize their non-financial mission over the business side. Our results indicate that there may be different schools of thoughts concerning this matter.

Succeed Together or Fail Alone: Going From Good to Great in Physical Education

“What we have is a systemic failure —one that involves the relationship of physical education programs in public schools with teacher preparation in higher education.”(Siedentop & Locke, 1997). This assessment led Prusak, Pennington, Vincent-Graser, Beighle, and Morgan (2010) to an examination of a school district that seemed to have achieved Systemic Success in PE (SSPE). The authors sought to understand SSPE’s history from conception to institutionalization. This three-year, qualitative, follow-up study was conducted using Collins’ (2001) framework from Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t.Making this examination from a business sector perspective provides an insightful look into the making of SSPE. Results of this study provide evidence that while social sector organizations (such as education) share much in common with business sector companies, there are distinct and fascinating differences. Collins’ (2001) framework is both confirmed and extended in this study. Findings also provide a means for PE practitioners and PETE programs to accomplish what Siedentop and Locke (1997) hoped for—to succeed together.