1. Third Sector Futures
Dialogues hosted by TSRC
A strategic lead for the third sector?
Some may lead but not all will ever follow…
Rob Macmillan and Heather Buckingham
Third Sector Research Centre
University of Birmingham
14th February 2013

2. About ‘Third Sector Futures’
Five headline issues:
1.The worst of times?
2.No longer a ‘voluntary’ sector?
3.Is the third sector so special? What is it worth?
4.Is the third sector being overwhelmed by the state and the market?
5.A strategic lead for the third sector?
Process:
•Discussion papers, on line discussion and seminars –
– Guardian Q&A 19th
•Sounding board and further feedback
•Autumn 2012 to Spring 2013
•http://thirdsectorfutures.org.uk/
•Please join the discussion!

3. ‘Oh, hello… is that
the voluntary
sector?’

4. Key themes: leadership across diversity
• A single sector? – conceptually and politically
• Diversity and hybridity – fractures and fuzzy edges
• ‘Hyperactive mainstreaming’ and a ‘strategic unity’
• Overlapping fields - a fragile and fragmented alliance
• Other players in the field….
• Leadership in/of the sector – and the power of narrative

5. Emerging perspectives from research on
national third sector leadership
Some concerns…
• Is it possible to speak for such a diverse sector?
• London/SE bias in national leadership
• Field specific leadership more important than sectoral
leadership
But…
• Important role for national leadership in speaking into policy
and public debates on behalf of TSOs:
– Local TSOs lack time and resources to influence policy
– Risk of self-censorship due to funding relationships

6. Emerging perspectives from research on
national third sector leadership
Consequently, representation and legitimacy need to be taken
seriously…
•Varied strategies and claims about representation (e.g.
membership organisations)
•Representation vs. principle/value -based leadership
•Importance of character and experiences of leaders
•Role of accountability and resonance

7. Strength in numbers: a new basis for
third sector leadership in difficult times?
• Strategic advantages of ‘third sector’ label under New Labour
• Will the sectoral narrative/identity dissipate as opportunities
to engage with and access resources from state diminish?
• Or could a new basis for agreement be found, around shared
priorities amidst diversity:
– Promoting wellbeing and social justice
– Speaking truth to power

8. Questions for discussion
1. Might an increasingly fragmented sector lose its political influence when
arguably it is even more necessary?
2. Was the third sector’s apparent ‘strategic unity’ a product of the Labour
government’s policy and financial commitment to the sector?
3. Without that commitment and support has the need for such a ‘strategic
unity’ now disappeared, or has it intensified?
4. To what extent does the sector need a leadership that is given authority
by leaders’ values, knowledge and experience, compared with a
leadership supported more by democratic mandate?
5. Is there a London bias in third sector leadership – and does it matter?
6. Should leaders base their views on evidence about the contribution of
the sector, or should they be promoting sector values?
7. Are existing leadership structures and sources of legitimacy in the sector
fit for purpose, or do we now need something different?