Consumer Participation: The Voluntary Sector and the Concept of Power

The relationship between voluntary agencies and their consumers has been the subject of very little, if any, empirical research. The burden of this paper is to highlight questions appropriate for investigation. It explores the idea of a ‘power’ relationship between voluntary agencies and consumers, and makes particular reference to the theory of a social construction of disability. Questions are raised about the meaning of ‘consumer participation’ and the role of the disability movement. Consumer participation depends upon the exercise of power; which itself requires the fulfilment of three pre-conditions. Successful implementation hinges on more than just structural and operational change. Participation must be seen as a process of re-definition: a reconstruction of the social reality in which voluntary groups exist. Such a process fundamentally alters the relationship between voluntary agencies and consumers; and so transforms the ethos and nature of voluntary action itself.