Change and continuity in British voluntary organisations, 1976 to 1988

A cohort of twenty British national voluntary agencies serving handicapped people was studied in 1976 and again in 1989 after a decade of major shifts in public policy. Changes and continuities were identified in income, structure, governance, management, programme, interorganisation relations and advocacy. A consistent pattern of growth, bureaucratisation and professionalisation was found, with relatively little change in the dominant mode of financing, statutory or philanthropic. A three-stage model is proposed to describe the development of British voluntary agencies since the 1970s, and some of the organisational implications of current policies for the 1990s are noted.This research is part of a Fulbright, Western European Regional Research Grant for 1989 and also received support from the University of California, Institute for International Studies and the Committee for Research at Berkeley. I wish to thank Marilyn Taylor and Stuart Etherington in London, and my colleagues Neil Gilbert, Bart Grossman and Paul Terrell for their helpful comments on an earlier draft. The assistance of David Billis, Director, and the staff of the Centre for Voluntary Organisation, London School of Economics, is also gratefully acknowledged.