The role of nonprofit associations in combating social exclusion in France

Abstract

Associations are increasingly participating in matters concerning social policies in France. The fight against the problems of social exclusion and the development of a social urgency field offer many opportunities for partnerships between the associative/nonprofit and public actors. Associations are invited to implement policies, with or sometimes instead of government administrations. At the same time, many strong associative networks intervene directly as experts supporting the ministerial cabinets that coordinate policy formulation. From this point of view, individual and contractual relations play an important role. Today, all the main social reforms in France are, in large part, founded on analyses and ideas provided by associative actors. Beyond the reinforcement of associations, and despite the fact they are simultaneously partners and interest groups, different associative leaders are working with some administrative and political actors to develop a new foundation for joint action between the government and nonprofit sectors. Under the guise of recent laws which normalize the position of the associations, this coalition is seeking to transform the national public accountancy in order to acknowledge the activities and riches produced by the nonprofit sector.

The limits to local participation and deliberation in the French ‘politique de la ville’

“…Local associations are not invited into institutional arenas where major decisions are taken: they are consulted, but not involved in the decision‐making process. In French policies against social exclusion, the existence of networks involving association leaders and officials playing a key role in lawmaking (Warin 2002b) has not been synonymous with an active role of those who are excluded and are usually objects of, rather than participants in, these policies. Even when partnerships were extended to local associations, they were more often driven by a top‐down rather than a bottom‐up rationale.…”

Between clients and bureaucrats: An ambivalent position of NGOs in the social inclusion agenda in Czech statutory cities

“…In the area of social exclusion, Warin (2002) describes how formalized consultative structure and formal subcontracting resulted in more intensive involvement of NGOs in France in the processes of both policy-making and policy implementation as experts. NGOs tend to promote themselves as mediators to restore the broken links between an excluded group and public authorities in the field of social inclusion.…”

Towards Developing New Partnerships in Public Services: Users as Consumers, Citizens and/or Co‐producers in Health and Social Care in England and Sweden

“…Both strategies were used as a means of responding to the real or perceived failures of the welfare state. The idea of joint interagency work and partnerships is not restricted to the UK (Adshead and Quinn 1998; Finn 2000; Warin 2002; Considine and Lewis 2003). In Sweden, there is a longer and more firmly entrenched tradition of collaborative governance.…”