Understanding the Microfoundations of Government–Civil Society Relations

Abstract

This article adds a much needed microlevel perspective to the literature on interactions between civil society organizations and governments. I argue that a microlevel perspective assists in making connections between two dominant streams in the literature on government-CSO relations: an empirical-analytical stream and a critical stream. It aims to better understand the interactions and relations, by analysing the institutional work done by CSOs' members. Adopting this approach puts CSO members in a more agentic position. Interactional processes are brought to the centre of analysis. The Dutch Community Sport Coach programme was used as a case to illustrate the usefulness of the approach. Through a one-year organizational ethnography, the article scrutinizes the way in which members of one CSO enact the organization's service delivery relationship with a municipality. Through a multidimensional perspective on agency, the analysis shows how individual CSO members act as embedded agents that assimilate a public logic into the dominant community logic. It further shows the CSO's members efforts and struggle to maintain their community logic. The article argues that an analysis of the microfoundations of government-civil society organization relations foregrounds the multivocality of the relationship as foundational.

Nonprofit capacity and social performance: mapping the field and future directions

“…Human resources are essential to nonprofits, as governments rely upon their assistance with a wide variety of public issues, including those that arise during and soon after a disaster. For example, in the UK, the Salvation Army worked with the government to assist the most vulnerable citizens during the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak (Waardenburg 2021 ). In providing assistance and social services, nonprofits need an adequate number of people (Carman 2009 ; Wicker and Breuer 2013 ) with positive attitudes, expertise, abilities, and a sense of trust and shared ideals to conduct the activities and programs and run operations successfully in achieving their social missions (Hong et al 2022 ; Misener and Doherty 2009 ).…”

“…By contrast, for sports nonprofits, professionalism is a process of being a professional where the youth starts as a member of the sports club. They can become qualified and professional coaches with talent development (Waardenburg 2021 ). However, the problem arises in recruiting and keeping members.…”

“…However, the problem arises in recruiting and keeping members. For example, sports nonprofits face challenges attracting and retaining adult and junior members, female board members, and volunteer engagement to achieve their social mission (Wicker and Breuer 2013 ) and recruit active members (Waardenburg 2021 ).…”

The Participation of People in Vulnerable Situations in Interest Organisations: A Qualitative Study of Representatives Views

“…The international research literature describes how interest organisations have become professionalised and knowledge intensive due to the employment of professional staff (Meyer & Bromley, 2013). As a result, scholars suggest that these organisations may face conflicts between civil society logic and professional logic (Eriksson, 2015;Schoenefeld, 2021;Waardenburg, 2021) and that closer links to the government can cause changes in their ideologies, structures, and activities (Van de Bovenkamp & Trappenburg, 2011). Furthermore, these issues can also lead to interest organisations losing contact with their traditional member bases (Brandsen et al, 2014) or even struggling to represent the heterogeneity among their members while creating a unified voice of influence (Pijl & Sminia, 2004).…”