Kathy L. Brock and Keith G. Banting, eds., The Nonprofit Sector in Interesting Times: Case Studies in a Changing Sector.

Shields, John

Kathy L. Brock and Keith G. Banting, eds., The Nonprofit Sector in Interesting Times: Case Studies in a Changing Sector (Montreal and Kingston: School of Policy Studies, Queen's University and McGill-Queen's University Press 2003)

IN THEIR EDITED collection, The Nonprofit Sector in Interesting Times: Case Studies in a Changing Sector, Kathy Brock and Keith Banting bring together a set of papers concerned with examining various aspects of Canadian nonprofit organizations operating in an environment characterized by profound change. This is the third volume in the "Public Policy and Third Sector Series" and the chapters here, as in the previous volumes, have their origins in a program of competitive research grants awarded through the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University. As such this collection represents a somewhat loose grouping of papers, and is marked by an unevenness common to edited volumes.

Brock and Banting state that "no one theme governed ... the works included" in this edition. (ix) However, an implicit theme captured in the book's title may be said to unite the work. While the chapters range widely in their focus, "from the relationship of voluntary agencies with governments and funders, to internal decision-making of voluntary organizations, to the changing regulatory environment of organizations, to the difficulties of coordinated action among these organizations," (x) the common link is that each chapter is concerned with how nonprofit organizations have adjusted to function in a period of deep restructuring.

The importance of this volume rests in large measure in the growing significance of nonprofit organizations in our lives. Until recently the role of nonprofit institutions in society had been virtually absent from Canadian academic analysis and policymakers were also largely unaware of their contributions to the 'public good'. The contribution and role of nonprofits were so hidden from history, in fact, that they came to be referred to in Canada as the 'invisible sector'. The Nonprofit Sector in Interesting Times is part of a growing body of academic, as well as community-based, research aimed at uncovering the important place of this sector in Canada. Consequently, we owe a debt of intellectual gratitude to Brock and Banting for spearheading the "Public Policy and Third Sector Series," a collection that has added to our empirical and analytical knowledge of the sector.

It is important to observe that there is a certain lack of precision and some measure of confusion which surrounds the conceptualization of nonprofit organizations. Throughout this volume, as well as in other such works, numerous terms are deployed to identify the sector, including nonprofit, charitable, voluntary, and third sectors. These terms are catch-all phrases which attempt to capture that area between the private and state sectors, rather than concepts which embody a distinct approach to nonprofit organization. These terms can also convey different meanings. For example, the notion of the charitable sector suggests that nonprofit organizations have a legal status as incorporated charities, a distinction that is not enjoyed by the majority of not-for-profit bodies. Also, numerous institutions, like universities and hospitals, enjoy charitable status, but given their close relationship with the state it is questionable as to whether they are a component of the nonprofit sector or better understood as part of the 'broader public sector'. This speaks to the fact that the 'not-for-profit sector' remains largely a residual category that is significantly under-theorized. There is, however, a growing sense that a distinct grouping of institutions that are recognizably separate from both the state and the market and worthy of independent analysis do exist.

Brock and Banting provide an introductory chapter that is most useful for framing many of the challenges and changes facing the nonprofit sector in Canada today. One theme they identify arises out of a debate between Robert Putnam, as outlined in his classic work Bowling Alone, and Robert Reich's arguments in Future of Success. Putnam contends that our communities and civic life are in sharp decline because of the breakdown of our voluntary associational networks, i.e., fewer individuals joining nonprofit organizations. Reich, by contrast, asserts that people are still joining together for things like childcare, health services, and recreation but they are joining as consumers rather than citizens. In short, the altruistic goals of addressing 'the needs of strangers' are lost and the poor and the needy are increasingly left to fend for themselves in an ever more competitive world where self-interest rules. Both Putnam and Reich identify a common problem, the erosion of community and the role that nonprofit organizations can play in restoring social solidarity, a theme that is addressed in subsequent chapters.

Susan Phillips in her chapter, "Voluntary Sector--Government Relationships in Transition," examines the changing relationship between the voluntary sector and the Canadian state in the context of neoliberal state restructuring. These changes include the downloading of many services to nonprofit organizations, the emergence of more collaborative relationships between the public and nonprofit sectors, and a renewed interest by governments of all political stripes in ideas of "citizenship," "volunteerism," and "self-sufficient communities." (18) According to Phillips, several changes necessitate the reform of voluntary sector-state relations. The first is the shift from a paternalist, dependent model of service delivery based on traditional notions of charity towards a civil society model characterized by a more empowering, participatory approach that emphasizes the creation of "enabling environments." (24) Such environments are ones where the state helps communities to help themselves, assists with capacity building, and promotes active citizenship, including incentives to donate and volunteer. But while the promise is for building deeper forms of citizenship within socially cohesive communities with strong social capital assets, the reality is that the logic of neoliberal governance structures promotes extreme individualism, a market-based form of consumer citizenship, and social polarization.

Phillips argues that traditional governance structures based on top-down bureaucratic methods of oversight are untenable within the contemporary environment that is increasingly more "horizontal, embedded and negotiated." (25) Also, while Phillips identifies moves such as the federal governments's Voluntary Sector Initiative as a step in the direction of creating a more meaningful working partnership between the nonprofit sector and the state, overall she remains skeptical of the outcome, given the overwhelming counter-tendency to embed neoliberal structural forms. Phillips' chapter gives us some of the tools in which to better understand these developments and it is by far the most conceptually advanced and satisfying paper in the collection.

Laura Brown and Elizabeth Troutt also offer the reader a most interesting study regarding cooperation and the stresses associated with the new relationships that are developing between the state and nonprofits. Drawing upon the Manitoba experience, the authors provide a useful set of analytical categories by which to understand this changing association. One point that comes out clearly is that new funding relationships between the state and nonprofit service providers are creating significant amounts of stress within the not-for-profit sector. They conclude that governments must act more as "system managers" of the sector, (214) rather than viewing themselves solely as funders seeking the biggest short-term bang for their dollars. The funding decisions of governments and the terms and conditions they attach to these funds greatly shape the stability and security of the nonprofit sector. Brown and Troutt conclude that better education for policymakers concerning the needs and realities facing the non-profit sector, sustainable and predictable funding, negotiated reporting and accountability requirements tailored to the capacities of the specific non-profit could all serve to increase the vitality of the sector and ensure effective provision of services into the future. Unfortunately, evidence points to the creation of a new funding regime for nonprofit human service providers based on contract financing which works to maximize state control while minimizing nonprofit autonomy; hardly the basis for building an independent and vibrant civil society.

Other chapters tackle issues associated with nonprofit financial planning and restraints in an environment of fiscal uncertainty; online charitable fundraising and the regulation of privacy; political advocacy and the challenge of maintaining tax-exempt charitable status; and the shifting role of nonprofits in public policymaking. The papers collected in this book approach their subject matter from various perspectives. The more valuable contributions, like Phillips' chapter, bring more theoretically enriched and critical analysis to their subjects. This is especially important if we are to fully comprehend the reality versus the rhetoric of nonprofit sector restructuring that is taking place under the inclusive title of 'building partnerships'. Overall, this volume is essential reading for those interested in understanding the expanding place that the nonprofit sector is playing in our rapidly changing society.

John Shields

Ryerson University