The Intersection of Nonprofit Roles and Public Policy Implementation

Abstract

Many nonprofit organizations implement policy through service delivery. In addition, these nonprofits serve other roles in their communities. Policy implementation strategies that overlook the many roles nonprofits play may misunderstand implementation challenges or fail to maximize the benefits of public-nonprofits partnerships. We aim to inform policy implementation by presenting a narrative that explores the intersection of these nonprofit roles and policy implementation through nonprofit service delivery. We situate this focus on nonprofits as policy implementers within a framework of nonprofit roles. We present commentary that integrates policy implementation and nonprofit roles by focusing on four themes: nonprofit role simultaneity, service delivery/policy implementation perceptual asymmetry, nonprofit roles over time, and network participation. Accounting for this multidimensionality can help government actors facilitate partnerships that enable service delivery while also recognizing what nonprofits do independent of their formal arrangements with governments.

Between the Public and the Private Interest: The Interrelationship of Intermediary Roles of Environmental Nonprofits in Coastal Resilience

“…Both frameworks assume simultaneity and interrelatedness of nonprofit roles, consistent with other studies that find both “distinctiveness and overlap” of roles (Moulton & Eckerd, 2012, p. 674). Focusing on policy implementation, Levine Daniel and Fyall (2019) found that nonprofit roles and activities can influence and be influenced by other actors, suggesting more dynamic relationships in the provision of public service. Depicting the configuration of multiple roles filled by nonprofits in a network arrangement provides unique information about how nonprofits leverage and achieve synergies across those different roles and activities.…”

Nonprofit Role Classification Using Mission Descriptions and Supervised Machine Learning

“…Societal roles are associated with the identity and function of organizations across the sector and often serve to differentiate nonprofits from public and for-profit organizations. Examples of societal roles include nonprofits as service providers; innovators; political advocates for stakeholders and potential adversaries of government and private firms; civic intermediaries working to educate, mobilize, and assimilate citizens to democratic norms; venues for the expression of individual values; and hotbeds of social capital creation (Anheier, 2009; Eikenberry & Kluver, 2004; Frumkin, 2009; Gordon & Babchuk, 1959; LeRoux, 2009; Levine Daniel & Fyall, 2019; Light, 1998; Putnam, 2000; Putnam et al, 1994; Salamon, 1987; Weisbrod, 1977; Young, 2000). Research suggests that the societal roles played by nonprofits vary temporally (Eikenberry & Kluver, 2004; Hall, 2006), geographically (Putnam et al, 1994; Young, 2000), and based on organizational characteristics (LeRoux, 2009).…”

“…Research suggests that the societal roles played by nonprofits vary temporally (Eikenberry & Kluver, 2004; Hall, 2006), geographically (Putnam et al, 1994; Young, 2000), and based on organizational characteristics (LeRoux, 2009). Societal role variation has implications for social cohesion, democratic participation, and the realization of important public values (Eikenberry & Kluver, 2004; LeRoux, 2009; Levine Daniel & Fyall, 2019; Putnam, 2000; Putnam et al, 1994).…”

“…Scholars have ascribed a variety of roles to nonprofits—roles associated with organizational identity, purpose, practice, and outcomes. Roles attributed to organizations across the nonprofit sector include service provider, civic intermediary, and innovator (Eikenberry & Kluver, 2004; Frumkin, 2009; LeRoux, 2009; Levine Daniel & Fyall, 2019; Moulton & Eckerd, 2012; Salamon, 1987). Research also identifies roles particular to nonprofit fields and subsectors (Brilliant & Young, 2004; Crutchfield & Grant, 2012; Young, 2000).…”

“…A variety of environmental and organizational factors shape nonprofit roles at the sector, subsector, and field levels of analysis (Eikenberry & Kluver, 2004; LeRoux, 2009; Maier et al, 2016; Moulton & Eckerd, 2012; Salamon, 2003; Young, 2001). Such internal and external pressures can lead to role-conflict at the organizational level and/or undermine the nonprofit sector’s capacity to fulfill roles critical to democratic governance (Eikenberry & Kluver, 2004; Levine Daniel & Fyall, 2019). Enhancing our understanding of variation in nonprofit roles is therefore consequential for academic research and nonprofit practice.…”