This paper reviews the historical and recent development of the third sector in social care services for older people, and uses this as a springboard to develop a typology to capture in stylised form the diversity of providers within the sector. After reviewing a range of evidence concerning the...

The notion of trust is one of the most topical issues in current social science theorising covering such diverse approaches as transaction costs economics, social capital, and cognitive sociology. In different ways and for different purposes, these approaches address the role of voluntary and...

This paper reports the findings of one component of the impact study being undertaken in the UK as part of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Non-profit Sector project. Drawing upon a literature review, expert interviews and a focus group, the paper summarises evidence on the impact of the third...

The voluntary or third sector in England is now receiving more sustained attention from policy makers than ever before. This paper claims that this situation, particularly as given tangible expression through the development of a Compact between the Government and representatives of the third...

This paper charts the economic contribution of the third sector in the UK, noting its significant presence in core welfare state fields, and setting it in comparative international context. It then offers a conceptual framework, the “production of welfare” approach, for analysing how the...