Understanding the Voluntary Sector: Critical Success Factors – A Case Study

Abstract

One of the key issues in recent times in England is the inter-relationship between voluntary organizations and sustainability. It is very tempting to view voluntary agencies rather like very fragile black boxes adrift on a turbulent sea and at the mercy of powerful social, economic and political pressures. The direction of their journey and their very survival is determined by critical success factors. Although the spate of studies have undoubtedly advanced the state of knowledge about voluntary organizations, very little is known about the internal composition and operation of the black boxes and even less about the way in which internal factors interact within the external world. This book examines the factors that impinge upon opening and understanding the black box such as governance and quality, leadership, workforce, performance, partnerships and finance and funding.