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In recent years there has been growing political and theoretical focus upon the contribution of voluntary and non-profit sector organisations within modern market-based democracies. Increasingly, governments look to non-profit organisations, charities, cooperatives or social enterprises to provide remedies to social problems. At the same time, voluntary organisations within civil society seek to regulate and to change the behaviours of governments and of the market. The shifting economic and policy environment caused by the 2008 financial crisis, austerity programmes, Brexit, and the global Covid-19 pandemic has created further challenges for the societal role and sustainability of civil society organisations.

This module aims to provide students with the necessary analytical tools to understand how the voluntary and non-profit sector functions in developed economies, drawing in particular upon scholarly literature and research from the UK, other European countries and the United States. It seeks to explore the theoretical function and contribution of such organisations, and also the practical challenges of management, governance and accountability. Students are encouraged, where appropriate, to ground their learning in their own experiences.
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