Edinburgh Napier University

  In an age of austerity the third sector is facing opportunities and challenges in its relations with the State and the Market as organisations grapple with a changing political, policy and financial climate. Drawing on a four year qualitative longitudinal study which examined the opportunities and challenges facing third sector organisations in Scotland in the delivery of public services, this paper explores the range of different strategies third sector organisations based in Scotland have employed to respond to this changing climate. The paper will explore how third sector organisations have managed the demands of changing funding structures and the changing relationships with government. In exploring responses of the third sector, this paper will examine how third sector organisations
understand and negotiate the tension between their independence, mission and ethos-driven social action, and delivering commissioned and contracted public services. In doing so this paper highlights the challenges of delivering services in a dynamically changing political, policy and financial climate to third sector independence, as well as the opportunities for organisations to emphasise their distinctive contribution in public service delivery.