Retired

The public sector has been faced with increasingly difficult challenges. Of particular concern have been decreased budgets and a growing demand for more citizen involvement. As a result, governments in a number of countries have had to look to form new types of institutional arrangements such as partnerships with other sectors in order to address these concerns. The voluntary and community sector has become one of these partners. Voluntary and community organizations have now moved from the periphery to the center of government policy and practice, particularly in respect to community based and local government policy development and service delivery. This shift has resulted in an expansion of the set of decision-makers and the creation of a new democratic context. This is reflected in the literature in a number of ways. Of particular relevance for this new role is the shift from government to governance and working through networks.

Therfi has bnen increasing intoest in colliiboratinns .jaitneiships aiiij nntoorks as; thev have amerqeii as inim'rgani/abonal innciva'tinns to .iciclres;-, the mtagrated iiahirf of rompiex policy problems Uiidetsiandinp llK valialion in how these mnov'atioiib work,

Organisations within the not-for-profit sector provide services to individuals and groups that government and for-profit organisations cannot or will not consider. The not-for-profit sector has come to be a vibrant and rich agglomeration of services and programs that operate under a myriad of philosophical stances, service orientation, client groupings and operational capacities. In Australia these organisations and services are providing social support and service assistance to many people in the community; often targeting their assistance to the most difficult of clients. Initially, in undertaking this role, the not-for-profit sector received limited sponsorship from government. Over time governments assumed greater responsibility in the form of service grants to particular groups: 'the worthy poor'. More recently, they have entered into contractual service agreements with the not-for-profit sector, which specify the nature of the outcomes to be achieved and, to a degree, the way in which the services will be provided. A consequence of this growing shift to a more marketised model of service contracting, often offered-up under the label of enhanced collaborative practice, has been increased competitiveness between agencies that had previously worked well together . Another trend emerging from the market approach is the entrance of for-profit providers. These larger organisations have higher levels of organisational capacity with considerable organisational slack to allow them to adopt new service roles. Shaped almost as 'shadow governments' they appear to be a strong preference for governments looking for greater accountability of outcomes and an easier way to control the interaction with the conventional not-for-profit sector.