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The Politics of Partnerships

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Abstract

The first chapter aims to introduce the main aspects of cross-sector partnerships, to present the working definitions within the book, the background trends that surround the relationship between nonprofit organisations and businesses and to situate the phenomenon under study within its historical context of interactions across the sectors.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For cases of these types of partnerships see: Warner and Sullivan 2004.

  2. 2.

    As contended by Edwards and Gaventa (2001:7) “Legitimacy is generally understood as the right to be and do something in society – a sense that an organisation is lawful, admissible, and justified in its chosen course of action. However, there are generally two ways to validate an organisation: through representation (which usually confers the right to participate in decision making) and through effectiveness (which only confers the right to be heard).”

  3. 3.

    For a legal and historical account of the development of corporations see Farrar and Hannigan (1998).

  4. 4.

    In the London Stock Exchange FTSE4GOOD is a special index that includes companies that meet the inclusion criteria that offer testimony of responsible practices. For more information: http://www.ftse.com/Indices/FTSE4Good_Index_Series/Criteria_Documents/index.jsp

    Also in the US the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), launched in 1999, a global index that aims to track the financial performance of sustainability-driven companies worldwide and currently manages over 4 billion euros. For more information:

    http://www.sustainability-indexes.com/htmle/other/faq.html

  5. 5.

    In 2005 the GRI reported 750 companies that used the Sustainability Reporting guidelines (GRI 2006). The Global compact reported that world wide (last update of information on line 29 March 2006) 2,500 businesses are included in its network (Global Compact 2006).

  6. 6.

    Type I partnerships refer to the negotiated agreements between governments that aim to implement the aims of Agenda 21. Type II partnerships are non-negotiated informal agreements between governments, intergovernmental agencies and civil society actors that aim to complement the negotiated ‘Type I’ commitments.

  7. 7.

    As defined by Coutoupis (1996:24): “Sponsorship (social) is the financing and support of nonprofit organisations and/or activities of social context, from private businesses, with the exclusive compensation the credit of sponsors with social beneficence, comprising the transfer of resources from the private to the public-social sector”.

  8. 8.

    Daniel Bell is a renowned sociologist.

  9. 9.

    It is similarly argued by Hardis (2003) that partnership discourse was cultivated by the Danish state.

  10. 10.

    The latest Eurobarometers research consulted for this research took place in July 2004 and the previous one in October 2003.

  11. 11.

    The number in the bracket notes the percentage decrease.

  12. 12.

    The Charity Commission in the UK is the national regulatory body of charities.

  13. 13.

    The figures presented here are from the Prime Minister’s Strategic Unit. It seems that there is no agreement between the different figures presented from the above source and the ones presented from the NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) neither on the total income of the sector or the total number of charities in the UK. As a result I suggest that the above figures are only indicative of the reality. As an indication the NCVO’s figure for the total number of charities in the UK in 2001/02 is 153,000 receiving a total of £20 billion. The same figures from the Strategic Unit are respectively 188,000 (for 2001) receiving £26.71 billion.

  14. 14.

    I refer here to cross sector partnerships rather than civil partnerships or limited liability partnerships as the latter two are regulated forms of interaction, the first within family law and the second within company law.

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  1. Brunel Business School, Brunel University West London, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK

    Dr. Maria May Seitanidi

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Seitanidi, M.M. (2010). The Partnership Society. In: The Politics of Partnerships. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8547-4_1

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