“Putting narrow-mindedness out of countenance”: the UK voluntary sector in the new millennium

The past environment for voluntary action conceived of voluntary organisations as acting as an “extension ladder” for the state. But the changes now taking place in the state’s role has fundamentally changed the context. The paper explores various alternative responses, including greater reliance on the market and making a new relationship with the state through formal compacts, before exploring some possible alternative futures for the sector. Themes of particular significance for those futures include the financial and economic climate, efficiency in service delivery, legitimacy and the decentralisation of the state’s functions. The paper concludes by placing these developments in the context of a wider debate currently taking place about the future of civil society.