Does size matter? Small-scale voluntary activity explored at 3rd BIVAR seminar - 12th March 2010

Submitted by Jo Pearce on Fri, 03/12/2010 - 12:36

Does size matter? Small-scale voluntary activity explored at 3rd BIVAR seminar

 
The third seminar in the 2009/2010 BIVAR series was held on 10 March at the Mary Ward Centre. The topic for discussion – ‘Does size matter?’ – was one close to our hearts at IVAR and proved popular, with over 40 people attending. The session looked at the role of small-scale voluntary sector activity and examined how best this work might be supported.
 
The first speaker, Dr. Jenny Phillimore (lecturer at the Institute of Applied Social Studies and investigator at the Third Sector Research Centre), presented findings from interviews with community and voluntary sector experts looking at the role, function and ways of working of small scale, so called, ‘below the radar’ third sector activity.
 
Download Jenny’s presentation here
 
This presentation was followed by a double-act from Ben Cairns (Director, IVAR) and Marilyn Taylor (Emeritus Professor at the University of the West of England, and IVAR Research Fellow) entitled ‘Mix, match or meddle? The challenges of supporting small voluntary organisations’. Ben looked at the distinctive challenges of organisation and management faced by small voluntary and community organisations (VCOs), while Marilyn drew on recent national and international work to consider whether, how and when these needs might best be supported, through both 'capacity building' and 'community development'.

Download Ben and Marilyn’s presentation here
 
The speakers prompted healthy discussion which included consideration as to what is ‘organised’ activity and who defines it as such, methodological issues around examining ‘below the radar’ activity and whether we need to look beyond organisational theory as researchers in this field, and the overlapping boundaries between voluntary action, civil society, activism and social lives.
 
The fourth seminar in the series, ‘Being generous with time and money’ will be held on 29 April at Birkbeck.