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Information Systems Research Forum
Enabling or Throttling Innovation: Trust, Risk and Control in Third Sector/State relations
Mike Cushman
ISIG, LSE
1200 - 1330
Thursday 18 February 2010
Room NAB 1.09
Issues of trust in public-third sector relationships and those between small third sector organisations have had limited exploration in research to date. A small but growing literature has considered the effects of changes in public services on third sector agencies, highlighting the increased emphasis on competitive allocation of funding, regulatory and performance frameworks, and consequent shifts in inter-sectoral boundaries. As pressures on public sector spending and competition for funding grow, there is also a shifting dynamic between ‘old’ and ‘new’ values, as the distinctive character of third sector agencies gives way to activities which have acquired legitimacy through dominant managerial cultures. Consequently, trust which formerly underpinned relationships between public and third sector agencies is being displaced by formalised arrangements which manage meanings and communications, normalising an asymmetry of relationships, with resultant effects on trust relationships with user groups.
This paper examines transitions in the third sector organisational environment and the challenges to relationships generated. It explores the growth of regulatory controls and risk management and ways in which risks are asymmetrically borne, identifying negative consequences for organisational learning and innovation. Focusing on changing relationships between the local state and third sector organisations, the paper draws on empirical data from two recent studies of non-profit organisations working in English inner-city areas. By examining power differentials and different approaches to understanding trust, the paper offers insights into the importance of trust in inter-organisational relationships in facilitating successful cross-sector partnership and learning.
Mike Cushman is member of the Information Systems and Innovation Group. He has research experience in a variety of arenas including; inter-organisational learning and knowledge creation and use and decision making under uncertainly. Most recently he has researched digital and social exclusion and the social construction of e-literacy. Prior to LSE he was a senior local authority officer responsible for grant management of a range of voluntary and community organisations and was chair of an innovative arts education charity in receipt of local authority funding.
If you are a visitor from outside LSE, please send a confirmation to b.d.eaton@lse.ac.uk. You will need to sign in at the reception desk of the New Academic Building. Please note places will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis - registration is not required for LSE students and staff.
Please note that public events organised by ISIG are normally videoed and streamed from our website. If you do not wish to appear in the video please inform the camera operator before the start of the session and seat yourself where you will not be inadvertently be in the field of view of the camera. If you do not inform us of your wish not to be recorded we will presume your consent to being included in the video.
For any further queries regarding this seminar or to request information about future events please contact Frances White. Research Coordinator.
page last updated 22 April, 2010 ^
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