Mike Danson & Geoff Whittam University of the West of Scotland

RSA Research Network Workshop Varieties of Neoliberalism and Alternative Regional and

Urban Strategies Wednesday 16th June 2010

Introduction

Theory of VCS and social enterprises

Labour and volunteering

Volunteering, inclusion and society

Supply, demand and institutions

Analysis and discussion

Conclusions

Liberalisation of Markets?

Rolling back the state, an attack on the public sector

Commodification – creating new markets

Regeneration

Social Capital

Social Inclusion

Community empowerment

Housing stock transfer

Land reform and CRtB Acknowledgement to previous work by Geoff with Kean

Birch

Correcting Market Failure? “Social enterprises create new goods and services

and develop opportunities for markets where mainstream business cannot or will not go” (DTI 2002)

Social Exclusion “Empowering individuals and communities,

encouraging the development of work habits and increasing employment diversity” (DTI 2002)

“Paradoxically, then, we are looking at the system of regulated capitalism to solve a problem that it has generated” (Blackburn and Ram 2006)

Uneven development is likewise a product of the market economy.

Can social enterprise provide the entrepreneurial spark?

Social entrepreneurship can break down existing social capital

Communities have existing ties and networks new

organisations securing LA contracts can break these existing relationships

The social entrepreneur as gate-keeper enables

them to exercise greater control and power over setting agendas, distributing resources and making decisions

The rationale for a social enterprise is the adoption of trading activities for a revenue source, there is no need for strong ties

Social enterprises outwith a specific area can compete

for LA contracts The provision of opportunity for some means

opportunities withheld from others Insider – outsider / social inclusion or exclusion New legal forms of social enterprise seem

contradictory to the ethos: e.g.community interest companies with paid directors

Can small local voluntary organisations compete with large social enterprises to secure contracts? And how?

Examples of secondary stock transfer Winner takes all can lead to the creation of

monopoly in the delivery of services Do the appropriate organisations win the contract,

example of a mental health charity securing a contract for delivering services for the homeless?

Quite clearly the current agenda is to attack the state sector, which we need to oppose

However, are there opportunities?

Shop stewards, community activities, members of revolutionary organisations are volunteers.

Members of the community running tenants associations, community halls, community buy-outs all require resourcing.

Democratic, free society : freedom to organise collectively, to undertake activities outwith the market and the state e.g. TUs, political campaigning, environmental lobbying, asylum seekers, etc.

Volunteering essential and necessary for democracy and for socialism

Citizens taking action through their own free will, without financial gain, and to the benefit of others (usually beyond immediate family members), or to a cause or the environment. Formally, this includes volunteering that takes place through a third party, for example a public body or a voluntary organisation.

Alternatively and more informally, volunteering may be undertaken as an individual (such as supporting someone in the community with a specific need), or as part of an informal group (such as being part of a walking bus for schoolchildren).

The United Nations has categorised volunteering into four broad areas:

• mutual aid or self-help; • philanthropy or service to others; • participation or civic engagement; and • advocacy or campaigning.

Voluntary Unpaid

Not compulsory No threat to benefits, pensions, …

Alternative strategies, societies, etc. =

concern about who volunteers, who doesn‟t, barriers, constraints, and so

V(d) and V(s) and V institutions

Increase / change because (i) downturn creates own demands; (ii)

public expenditure cuts; (iii) contracting out; (iv) some losers ⇒ criticisms of role of 3rd sector/ social economy/ social enterprise, …

But capacity problems because (i) recession/credit crunch - lower

donations/investment income,etc; (ii) competing needs; (iii) changing policy priorities

lone parent or a single adult

lacking qualifications

having a long term illness or disability

having a partner who is unemployed or inactive

Job poor and job rich households

Danson, Futureskills Scotland, 2004

Groups who least likely to volunteer, but with greatest needs?

Reports that more considering volunteering – CV, skills, experience, altruism (?), etc.

Translate into action? % static since 2001

Conflicting reports – sport down, others up.

More or different volunteers?

Change expectations of volunteer-using organisations?

Costs of volunteering?

The Review of Literature and Research on Volunteering

Non-volunteers are especially concentrated amongst the socially excluded, those on low incomes and benefits, the economically inactive and unemployed, residents of poorer neighbourhoods and members of unstable families.

… more than twice as many people in the higher socio-economic groups (A and B) volunteer than those in lower socio-economic groups (D and E).

Many of the low skilled not appreciating that they could volunteer or have a role to play, inextricably linked to a lack of confidence;

A continuing lack of awareness of the relationship between volunteering and social security benefits, and the role that volunteering can play in helping people make the transition to work;

Concerns that mobility/disability and language problems will not be catered for, e.g. the need for adapted equipment for people with visual or hearing problems;

Concerns that volunteering will result in being worse off financially, with out-of-pocket expenses and other outgoings to become a volunteer not being reimbursed; and

The traditional "middle class, middle-aged image" appears to be a continuing reason, barrier or excuse for not volunteering amongst many.

shows that some people are never introduced to

volunteering, do not know how to get started and

are never attracted nor welcomed to become

involved. Scottish Government, 2004

time structure, social contact, collective purpose,

status, and activity.

Jahoda’s latent deprivation of work

Central funds insufficient to match increased interest

Local VCs, CVSs, etc. struggle to meet demands

Conflicting demands – service delivery vs skills/CV/employability agenda

New resources – staff, experience, expertise, …

Volunteering concept abused by many „Our‟ demands - inclusive, fruitful lives, right to

free association, to campaign, etc. removing barriers to volunteering for any based

on age, gender, (dis)ability, ethnicity, networks, etc.

V - social democratic (H), „liberal‟ (H), corporatist (M), statist (L)

How recession-proof the fundamental principles? Shop stewards rights to time off, campaigns, support for community-based organisations, opportunity for fundamental changes?