Voluntas, 3".3, 383-390

Marilyn T a y l o r a

The Third Sector in International Perspective: Indianapolis, 1992

Conference review

How universal is the third sector? Is it possible to develop a framework for research in this sector that can cross national and cultural bound- aries?

In March 1992, Indianapolis hosted the third of a series of research conferences on the third sector. The first was in 1987, when researchers from 14 countries met in Bad Honnef, Germany for a conference on the non-profit sector and the welfare state. In his preface to the book of that 1987 conference, Katz (1990) hailed the coming of age of a completely new field of policy research. But, although research on the third sector was underway in a number of countries at this time, it was difficult to say how widespread the sector's research community was or, indeed, whether researchers in different countries were all studying the same animal. Research was generally confined by national definitions and assumptions. The spread of countries represented in Germany was limited - the presence of one participant from Central Europe (Hungary) was something of a curiosity, and countries outside the so-called 'developed world' were only represented through Western eyes. By and large, participants came from stable democracies and could share assumptions about the nature of government, the world order and the nation-state which are now much less certain.

Looking at the Indianapolis conference, how far has the research community travelled since 198~ Is a shared understanding emerging which will justify comparative study? It is almost impossible to give a definitive account of a conference with several different panels running alongside each o t h e r - participants attending different streams could well have taken back home with them quite different impressions of its coverage and its major themes. This article gives the impressions of one participant from the UK, based on both attendance at the conference itself and a survey of all the papers presented and available there.

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International change

The journey from Bad Honnef to Indianapolis has spanned a period of considerable global change. The globalisafion of the economy con- trasts with ethnic and political ~-agmentation and alienation, from Bosnia to Somalia to Los Angeles. In response, more is being demanded of the UN, the European Community and other international configur- ations. Meanwhile, economic recession, environmental crisis, the growth of AIDS and international trade in drugs are among the many challenges facing global and national institutions. The numbers of the dispossessed - refugees, homeless; unemployed - continue to grow, as do divisions between rich and poor within and between countries.

The third Sector will address these challenges alongside governments and for-profit organisafions, but past experience suggests that, for the casualties of political upheaval, environmental disaster and economic restructuring, the sector's distinctive contributions are essential. New international power bases, meanwhile, require it to forge new relation- ships in meeting these needs and advocating for their relief.

The shape of the sector itself is changing. In Eastern and Central Europe, the third sector is re-emerging after some 40 years in the shadows. Elsewhere, economic recession and ideological change mean that the sector is caught up in a move towards "third-party government' and privatisation, in some countries, the third sector is regarded with ambivalence by fragile or authoritarian governments. Its legal status is at issue, not only in countries emerging out of totalitarianism, but in the European C o m m u n i t y - where third sector organisations are joining forces to address the challenges of the restructuring of the economy and decision-making - and where non-profits are increasingly in competition with for-profits.

In such an environment, a clear understanding of the nature of the third sec to r - its scope, its distinctive qualities, its strengths and its boundaries - seems essential The growing research interest evident across the world comes none too soon.

The response of the research community

The papers at the Indianapolis conference provide a wealth of material on the situation of the third sector in different countries, including historical studies from different continents. Countries outside Western Europe and the US were better represented in 1992 than in 1987 - people from 28 countries attended and papers were received from 24, although North America and Western Europe still accounted for some two-third,~ ~f the 60 or so papers presented. Speci'~list panels on

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developing countries and Central and Eastern Europe gave participants an opportunity to focus on research in these parts of the world, while a plenary session was devoted to developments in the European Community.

The growth of a comparative perspective was illustrated by the other main plenary in the body of the conference, which was devoted to the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project - covering I2 countries from five continents. This provided both an overview of the sector in different countries and an opportunity for participants to consider the methodological difficulties involved in comparative study, especially that of definition (Salamon and Anheier, 1992). A number, of other papers provided information and insight of relevance well beyond their national contexts. Several papers drew on research in more than one country or had authors of different nationalities. Most panels drew from different continents.

Despite the encouraging signs, however, there is still much to be done. In the conference at large, a number of papers were critical of the ethnocentrism of past definitions and theories developed in the Anglo-American world (Cnaan et al., Moulin), and in a time-frame which ignored history (Lyons, Langley). The experiences of the develop- ing world pose many challenges for existing theory, as the papers at this conference demonstrated, but attendance at the special panel for developing countries was low. Much of the discourse is still dominated by the English-speaking Western developed countries, the service- providing role of the sector and economic explanations of its develop- ment. The role of the third sector in the physical environment and in relation to ethnic conflict, for example, remained largely undiscussed in Indianapolis aside from those papers from developing countries.

Definition

The need for a wider canvas is best demonstrated by the question of definition. Questions were raised throughout the conference about the assumptions implicit in existing terminology, especially residual defin- itions which define the sector in terms of what it is not. Terms such as "non-profit', 'non-governmental', 'non-partisan" but also the more positive "philanthropic' fail to do justice to major debates within the sector and at this conference.

Non-profit?

Defining the sector in terms of profit - or its non-distribution - is Counterproductive where the sector is challenged for its tax-exempt

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status (Langley). A more comprehensive and assertive approach, which gives a much richer definition of its distinctiveness, is needed. A number of contributors grappled with the relevance of 'non-profit' and the assumptions it carries for a sector engaged in empowerment and advocacy (for example, Landim) or where countries are developing their own civil societies and need to develop models based in their own cultures and experiences (Ruziea). Equally challenging to current definitions is the work of the sector in economic development, which raises awkward questions about the non-distribution constraint.

Independent? Non-governmental?

An understanding of the role of the state is integral to the study of the third sector. Privatisation and quasi-markets are an issue of concern in countries as far apart as New Zealand and the Netherlands. Will the sector retain its independence or become the delivery arm of government? At one end of the spectrum there were fears of an over-controlling state. But at the other, there were questions about the ability of the third sector to pick up the financial tab that governments are increasingly keen to avoid. Most countries can draw on a pt~ilau- thropic tradition - papers in the conference discussed Islamic and Buddhist as well as the Judeo-C2wistian philanthropy. But few countries have the philanthropic resources or track record of the US. And even there, as Hall reminded us, government has played a key role in the relatively recent growth of the sector. Most third sector organisations, however suspicious of their governments, are unw~lliug to let govern- merit off the welfare or environmental hook. Nor is third sector provision intrinsically preferable to that of the state. Mel ie f - writing ~rom the Netherlands, which has had many years of 'third-party" government - warned that the introduction of voluntary organisations into the delivery of public goods should be based on sound arguments and not on a more or less unconditional belief in the virtues of voluntary organisations, especially if they are to retain their distinctive characteristics.

Non-political? Non-partisan?

It is important to recognise the complications of the relationship with the state in countries where government itself is precarious and unpredictable (for example, Ethiopia) or where 'non-governmental' has meant 'anti-governmental' - countering totalitarian regimes or colonial oppression. In some countries, the third sector is actively engaged in the political process (for example, the Philippines). The role of the third sector as a government-m-waiting was high~ghted, although this

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can occasion considerable disillusionment when key community activists take government posts.

Philanthropic? Benevolent?

The term 'philanthropy' tends to be associated with services to others. Concepts such as 'benev01ence', put forward by Katz in his introduction, fail to recognise the contribution of mutuality and solidarity in many countries (Hasenfeld and Gidron, Lyons) which must be part of any international research framework.

There is the danger, too, that research based on this premise will be uncritical of the sector, as Melief's earlier comment illustrates. Katz, in his introductory remarks, warned of the dangers of making a prior/ political assumptions about the sector and assuming that it was always a Good Thing. In a session on ethics, O'Neill reminded us of the partio11~rism of the sector and stressed the need to create and shape organisational moral/ties which could overcome a centrifugal tendency to follow individual interests. He attacked 'the feeling that the sector that does good needn't worry about being good'. If the sector claims values as its particular province then it needs to accept the respon- sibilities this brings.

International

The other term that needs defining in reviewing this conference is "international'. In Indianapolis there was comparatively little attention paid to international non-governmental organisations and the relation- ships between these and indigenous organisations in the countries where they operate. As such, the focus remained cross-national rather than international. Thompson reminded us that 'the absence of a strong domestic philanthropic network and culture as well as the fiscal crisis of the states' makes the third sector in many developing countries very dependent on international pb~1~nthropy and its values. The issues raised by the international exercise of this power (see, for example, E1-Baz) will require considerably more discussion in the future. Even within national boundaries, philanthropy exercises largely unaccountable power, often on behalf of elites. (In the US it has, according to Hall, been the white protestant conununity elites until very recently.)

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Management and organisation

There was perhaps less of a focus on management, accountability and organisational issues in this than in earlier conferences. A number of papers from the developIng world stressed the increasing complexity of the management task facing their Indigenous organisations and the need for training (Thompson, E1-Baz, Samarasinghe). Thompson, for example, suggested that 'solidarity in opposing the Pinochet government permitted issues of internal organisation and performance to be de- emphasised or ignored'. The management of change and the implic- ations of change for management are issues that resound across many differentcountries and must be addressed if the business of the sector is not to be left increasingly to the largest and the most 'professional' organisations (Thompson). As new management gurus such as Drucker 'discover' the third sector, this is an area of study which has considerable significance beyond the sector itself.

Conclusions

Supporters of the third sector see it as having a crucial role in the development and defence of civil society, in mediating between the individual and powerful national and international institutions (whether public or private), in the development of systems of social welfare which can meet the increasing needs and aspirations of diverse groups in today's society, or in pushing forward the boundaries of political, economic and social organisation. But these are its aspirations. Research offers an opportunity to test these aspirations against reality, to stand outside the value-laden claims and counterclaims made by the sector and take an objective view of its role, characteristics and contribution. The major changes o f recent years provide a prom/sing laboratory in which to carry out this analysis. They also provide the opportunity to identify the circumstances in which the sector is best equipped to meet the aspirations which are laid upon it.

How far its researchers will meet these objectives will be the stuff of future conferences. It will be important to widen the discourse to address an ever more international audience and to test existing definitions and concepts on a wider stage. The need for networks and a common identity for the sector, both within and between countries, arose in several papers, especially where the sector feels most fragile (Katus, Thompson, E1-Baz). In this respect, one of the most encouraging outcomes from Indianapolis was the agreement by those present to establish an International Society of Researchers in the Voluntary and Nonprofit Sector. This would create a more formal umbrella for the

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developing international research network in this field, consolidate the links that are now being made at all levels and extend them to researchers who are still isolated.

Note

a School for Advanced Urban Studies, University of Bristol.

References

Katz, S. (1990) i~reface to Anheier, H. and Seibel, W. (eds) The Third Sector: Comparative Studies of Nonprofit Organisations Waiter de Gruyter, Berlin.

Cnaan, tLA., Perlmutter, F.D., and Kang, C-H. (1992) Voluntary associations: societal variations in response to human needs, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Developmental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, Indianapolis, Indiana, March.

E1-Baz, S.A. (1992) Historical and institutional development of Arab NGOs, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Developmental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, Indianapolis, Indiana, March.

Hall, P.D. (1992) Origins of the third sector: public policy, philanthropy, and the American welfare state, 1940-1990, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Developmental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, indianapolis, Indiana, March.

Hasenfeld, Y. and Gidron, B. (1992) Self-help groups and human service organizations: an inter-organizational perspective, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Developmental, Organizational and Ethical /ssues, Indianapolis, Indiana, March.

Katus, J. (1992) Networking in Europe: the EVSA case, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspec~ve: Developmental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, Indianapolis, Indiana, March.

Landim, L. (1992) What is an NGO? Notes on the nonprofit organizations in Brazil, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Develop- mental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, Indianapolis, Indiana, March.

Langley, P.A. (1992) The voluntary sector in America and the public policy environment, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Developmental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, IndianapoLis, Indiana, March.

Lyons, M. (1992) The history of the non-profit sector in Australia as a test of some recent non-profit theory, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective" Developmental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, Indianapolis, Indiana, March.

Melied, W.B. (1992) Dutch voluntary organisations in transition, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Developmental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, Indianapolis, Indiana, March.

Moulin, A.M. (1992) The Pasteur Institute and the logic of nonprofit, Conference

390 Marilyn Taylor

on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Developmental Organizational and Ethical/ssues, Indianapolis, Indiana, March~

Ruzica, M. (1992) Transition, dvil society, and the voluntary sector: a focus on East Central Europe and Yugoslavia, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Developmental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, Indianapo~, Indiana, March.

Salamon, A.M. and Anheier, H.I~ (1992) In search of the non-profit sector. I: The question of definitions, Voluntas, 3:2, 125-51.

Samarasinghe, LM. (1992) Historical development of the nonprofit sector in Sri Lanka, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Develop- mental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, Indianapolis, Indiana, March.

Thompson, A. (1992) The nonprofit sector in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, Conference on The Third Sector in International Perspective: Developmental, Organizational and Ethical Issues, Indianapolis, Indiana, March.