ABSTRACT
An earlier study completed in 1995 charting the social, political and economic contribution of this sector, characterized this set of institutions as then beginning to move ‘out of the shadows’. That study was the first to demonstrate the UK voluntary sector’s overall scope and scale, and link that systematically to ongoing policy and research debates (Kendall and Knapp, 1996). Just 7 years after that research was completed, it can reasonably be argued that these organizations have not only consolidated their place on the public stage, but find themselves under a spotlight of unprecedented intensity. A position of relatively low policy visibility has been replaced by one of sustained scrutiny. This book aims to contribute to our understanding of this process and the challenges and opportunities that it raises.
