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Reviews the development of the Irish voluntary sector and examines the unique characteristics of the legal framework in which voluntary organizations operate and the funding and staffing arrangements. Focuses on recent changes in the relationship between the state and organizations. Speculates on the future of these organizations by examining issues such as contracting, cohesiveness and general evolutionary trends.

There has been much research focusing on contracting and its effect on individual voluntary sector organisation, and some mapping of the extent of voluntary sector participation in joint community care planning. Each of these is a new and formal relationship with the statutory sector, and in many cases the tasks are fulfilled by the same voluntary sector worker (usually the senior paid officer of the agency). But the impact that these two new relationships have on the voluntary organisation’s perception of its dependence and inter‐dependence has received less attention. The paper will draw on structured interviews in three local authorities, with voluntary sector participants in contracts for social care, and with participants in joint community care planning groups, as well as on documentary research. It will explore the impact of the evolving roles for those seeking to operate effectively in the pluralist provision of public services. It will analyse experiences within joint community care planning structures, and will analyse experiences of contractual relationships. The paper will seek to identify the elements present in each research site which influence the culture of joint working within the two statutory/ voluntary relationships.

Voluntary organisations are an integral part of community care, and the available research indicates the value of their social support role. However, surprisingly little is known about the forms and functions of this support, or the links to the formal support provided by the National Health Service (NHS), so hampering quality improvements. Therefore, a small sample of voluntary service organisations in one English county participated in a pilot study. This involved the staff and users of these organisations, and a geographically linked sample of NHS mental health professionals. Interview data indicated that the voluntary sector users and staff held similarly positive views of the appropriately varied forms and functions of the provided social support, and all participants held unusually similar and positive views of their links, although areas for improvement were suggested by both groups (e.g. links to GPs).

This paper aims to consider the impact of the European Union procurement regulations. It assesses the impact of the re‐tendering of services on the terms and conditions of employment and sense of well being, and commitment of employees in the social care sub‐sector of the voluntary sector.

The study employs a qualitative study of three organisations utilising semi‐structured interviews with managers and employees.

The process of re‐tendering is creating intensified competition and the breakdown of co‐operation between voluntary sector organisations. Re‐tendering also has an impact on employee terms and conditions with related problems arising with regard to their morale and commitment.

This remains a relatively small‐scale piece of research and there is also scope to consider how these issues are played out in private, as well as voluntary sector organisations.

The research highlights the potential tensions between creating greater competition and a search for value for money in the tendering and re‐tendering of services on voluntary organisations' raison d'être and the sense of commitment of employees.

There is little research examining the human resource aspects of re‐tendering and this research provides an important step in surfacing a number of emergent issues for how voluntary organisations manage the people dimension of the re‐tendering process.

This paper aims to provide a reflection on the other contributions to this special issue of IJPSM on the “employment implications of the outsourcing of public services to voluntary, not‐for‐profit organisations” in the light of more widely available discourses and evidence.

The paper, in line with the purpose, draws on relevant secondary sources, including those forming part of this special issue.

The provided analysis centrally concludes that, against the backcloth of growing competitive pressures and public expenditure cuts, there is a real threat of a general downward trend in the employment conditions of voluntary sector staff engaged in the delivery of outsourced public services that has the potential to adversely affect service quality.

There is a need for much more extensive research on how market‐based outsourcing is impacting on the work experiences of voluntary sector staff outside the area of social care and the implications that it has for the quality of service provision.

The analysis draws attention to the need to consider further regulatory action to protect the terms and conditions of voluntary sector staff engaged in the delivery of outsourced public services.

The paper serves to highlight that, rather than improving the value for money of social care services, outsourcing has the potential to do the opposite by adversely impacting on the employment conditions of staff and hence the quality of services provided.

At present no satisfactory economic theory of non‐profit organizational leadership exists. The purpose of this paper is to develop an economic theory of non‐profit leadership and apply this theory to the problem of non‐profit failure or “voluntary sector failure.”

The paper draws on the economic literature on the non‐profit sector to critically examine this approach to theorizing about non‐profit organizations (NPOs). It then considers the contribution that Lester Salamon has made to the understanding of NPOs. It is argued that the very sources of non‐profit “distinctiveness” identified by Salamon are also simultaneously associated with “voluntary sector failure.” An economic theory of non‐profit leadership is developed and it is held that appropriate leadership can reduce voluntary failure.

The major comparative advantages of NPOs make these agencies particularly prone to various forms of “voluntary failure” that present challenges not only to NPOs, but also public policy makers. This paper presents a theory of non‐profit leadership that seeks to demonstrate that appropriate forms of non‐profit leadership can overcome, or at least ameliorate, voluntary failure.

Future research could determine empirically whether leadership plays a decisive role in the performance of the non‐profit sector. This would assist in assessing the empirical validity of the presented in this paper.

The literature on non‐profit failure is incomplete without an adequate theory of non‐profit leadership. This paper develops a theory of non‐profit organizational leadership and argues that appropriate leadership can reduce the extent and severity of non‐profit failure.

This empirical study aims to understand the interrelationship among the key technology adoption factors including social influence, individual existing knowledge, and individual perceptions of technology (i.e. usefulness, ease of use, and enjoyment) and their effects on individual intention to use a free voluntary service.

The survey method is employed to collect data from universities offering the free mobile messaging service. A structural equation modeling analysis technique is used to analyze data reliability and validity in the measurement model and examine causal relationships among the constructs in the structural model.

The results show that social influence affects individual knowledge and perceptions of the service (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived enjoyment) and successively influences the individual intention to use the free voluntary service. This study indicates that the intrinsic value of perceived enjoyment has a greater impact than the extrinsic value of perceived usefulness in terms of its effect on individual intention to use a free voluntary service. In addition, the effect of perceived usefulness of alternative systems should be taken into account when using perceived usefulness from the technology acceptance model to predict individual's technology adoption decisions under the free voluntary setting.

This study fills the gap in the technology adoption literatures regarding the free voluntary service adoption based on social influence, individual knowledge, and individual perceptions of technology. It assists academics to understand the drivers of technology acceptance under the free voluntary setting and provides guidance for organizations to increase users' acceptability of their free voluntary services.

Presents results from an exploratory study of 143 voluntary organisations. Aims to evaluate management employee relations policies in the voluntary sector in the era of contracting. Reveals evidence of employee relations policies being influenced by the funding priorities of the state. Provides evidence to suggest that these policies may be leading to discontent among the workforce. Concludes with a discussion regarding the implications such policies may have on employee commitment in the sector, and suggests several possible avenues for continued research.

Discusses case studies of general enquiry services in 20 high‐profile national voluntary environmental organizations. Highlights public concern about the environment and the important role these services play in meeting demand for environmental information. Shows that they supply many different categories of enquirer with a wide range of environmental information, and that in doing so they both serve organizational aims and raise general awareness of environmental issues. This often means striking a delicate balance between what information can be provided free and what requires a charging policy. Found that some organizations increasingly employ marketing techniques to establish a recognizable profile in the minds of the public, their enquiry services working closely with publicity and membership departments. Also found some confusion in the minds of the public regarding which organization(s) to contact, and overlap and duplication of material. Suggests further research to look at ways of overcoming these problems.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw a dramatic rise in the number of people volunteering to support older people shielding at home. This study aimed to determine the processes by which volunteers were rapidly engaged in their communities and their impact on the older people who were supported and health and social care services.

The study took place in South East England between May–August 2020. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 88 participants including health and social care practitioners (n = 12), leaders of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations (n = 25), volunteers (n = 26) and older people receiving volunteer support (n = 25). Policy and procedure documents were sourced from the VCSE organisation leaders. Data were analysed thematically according to a framework method.

The authors identified key themes of People, Process and Planning. People: volunteers had a significant, positive impact on older people in their communities, with volunteers themselves, also benefiting. Process: VCSE organisations needed to work together and with health and care providers to avoid gaps and duplication of services. VCSE organisations were able to act quickly, by-passing many complex operational procedures. However, there was a need to ensure the safety of both volunteers and older people. Planning: Looking forward, there were concerns about the long-term funding of VCSE organisations and the availability of volunteers.

This study took place during the first wave of the pandemic, hence, it provides a snapshot of how voluntary organisations operated at this time and highlights the importance of integration with health and care statutory services.