ISTR Fourth International Conference Dublin, Ireland / July 5-8, 2000 The Third Sector: For What and For Whom?

Bella Dicks Tom Hall hallta@cardiff.ac.uk Andrew Pithouse

Drawing on recent research in Wales, the paper will explore relations of democratic partnership between devolved government and the third or 'voluntary' sector. The paper will use research findings to test and contest notions of civil society as these figure in both political pronouncements and contemporary academic discussion in the UK and elsewhere.

The background and empirical base to the paper is provided by the recent devolution of government in the UK, and specifically the establishment of a National Assembly for Wales. Following elections in May 1999, the Welsh Assembly has assumed many of the policy and administrative responsibilities previously held by the British parliament in London. Devolved government in Wales has not only meant the devolution of various powers to Wales, but also the promise of a devolution of power within Wales, from government to other sectors of society. The Welsh Assembly has undertaken to consult closely, and work in partnership, with local government, business and also the voluntary sector; the overall aim is to achieve an 'inclusive' politics, redressing a perceived democratic deficit. Of these three proposed partnerships, it has been that between the Assembly and the voluntary sector which has carried the most powerful democratic charge. The Assembly First Secretary, Alun Michael, has insisted that the Assembly 'must recognise the voluntary sector as a key player and partner ... at the heart of our work to build a better Wales.'

The voluntary sector is not only valued by the Assembly as a potential democratic resource, successful relations with the voluntary sector are also a legal requirement. Under the terms of the Government of Wales Act (1998) the Assembly is required to establish a Voluntary Sector Scheme, setting out how it proposes, in the exercise of its functions, to provide assistance to and consult with the voluntary sector. No comparable statutory scheme exists in England or Scotland at the present time and so the voluntary sector in Wales (which has been seen as relatively under-developed historically) is now presented with something of a unique opportunity. The paper will outline these general developments and chart the implementation of the Voluntary Sector Scheme in Wales, drawing particular attention to those issues on which the Scheme could fall short of, or diverge from, the expectations of the voluntary sector. In order to do so, the paper will insist on a disaggregation of any simplistic notion of the

voluntary sector in Wales as a monolithic whole, and will explore the diversity of response to the Scheme from within the sector. In conclusion, these particular issues will then be articulated to wider contemporary debates. Notions of inclusive government working in partnership with (a revitalised) civil society belong to a vocabulary that is presently familiar on both sides of the Atlantic. The notion of civil society (which voluntary organisations are frequently taken to be exemplary of) is particularly prominent, for example, in the Third Way agenda. The paper suggests that much contemporary commentary here is influenced by a normative vision of civil society (and the voluntary sector) as an unproblematic democratic good. The paper considers whether empirical research can usefully ground and qualify such enthusiasm.

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