As the leading publisher in Social and Public Policy, we publish in the core social sciences to highlight social issues, advance debate and positively influence policy and practice.
Our list leads the way on conversations around inequality and social injustice featuring authors such as Peter Townsend, Kayleigh Garthwaite, Danny Dorling, Pete Alcock, John Hills and Bob Jessop. Series including the International Library of Policy Analysis and Research in Comparative and Global Social Policy bring international, high-quality scholarship together in order to address globally shared challenges.
Our key journals in this field are the Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, an internationally unique forum for leading research on the themes of poverty and social justice, Policy & Politics, ranked 15th of 49 in Public Administration and celebrated its 50th year in 2022, and Evidence & Policy, dedicated to comprehensive and critical assessment of the relationship between researchers and the evidence they produce and the concerns of policy makers and practitioners.
Social and Public Policy
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The majority of existing literature on search and rescue (SAR) membership examines the many apparent advantages that involvement in such work brings. However, it is equally relevant to ask what might inform decisions to leave SAR teams. This article examines the complexity of leaving decisions among SAR volunteer members by surveying 52 individuals who left their teams between March 2016 and July 2018, including follow-up interviews with eight participants. Analyses revealed that leaving decisions among SAR personnel reflect those made by other groups, with issues such as time constraints, interpersonal relationships and the task being incongruous with expectations being highlighted. However, an additional layer of complex decision making was indicated, which shows members tended not to leave right away in response to external pressures – rather, they would enter a stage of heightened sensitivity to what would otherwise be mundane problems. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
This article explores the accountability relationship between the state auditor’s office and non-profit organisations by examining the audit reports prepared by the North Carolina State Auditor’s Office for non-profit organisations from 2009 to 2018. The data collected for this study show that the extent to which the state auditor conducts audits of non-profit organisations is fairly limited. Yet, when it does audit them, it is doing so to police their behaviours, monitor their expenditures and ensure that they are being good stewards with the resources they have been given. The findings from this study have important implications, in that they suggest that other accountability mechanisms continue to be important, including: training and education for board members about their legal and fiduciary responsibilities; the importance of adhering to best practices and standards; and the important role that third-party watchdog organisations and accreditors can play in ensuring non-profit accountability.
Visually impaired people in the UK have been adversely impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic due to an inconsistent approach between agencies and a failure to effectively manage key data. In this paper, fractures in the system already evident, particularly around the transition between health and social care, and the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has further starkly highlighted them, are presented. Key recommendations are proposed to improve the system and prevent such failings being repeated.
This study investigates the association between the integration of first-generation immigrants and their volunteering. Using data from a Canadian national survey, we examine three dimensions of immigrant integration: professional, psychosocial and political. General volunteering is not significantly related to integration; however, there exists a relationship between the different dimensions of integration and where immigrants choose to volunteer. Thus, the relationship between the type and degree of immigrant integration and volunteering is nuanced; it matters where volunteering occurs.
The COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing policies have created a range of challenges for voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations addressing isolation and loneliness among older people. This paper explores four learning points from one VCS organisation, Time to Shine, which is working to reduce loneliness among older people in a COVID-19 world, using technology, finding the ‘hard to reach’, tackling ageism and managing anxiety following isolation.
This study examines public employees’ donations to a workplace giving campaign at a large public university in the south-east of the United States. First, we employed logistic regression to predict the likelihood of donating through workplace giving programmes using a sample of employees at a large public university (N = 11,726). Second, we estimated an ordinary least squares regression to identify the significant predictors of donation value with a subsample of employee donors (n=1,832). Third, we developed donor profiles (for example, clusters) of employee benefactors using K-medoids clustering. Factors such as sex, age, education and salary were significant predictors of both being a donor and the donation amount. Additionally, employment duration was significantly related to being a donor and the donation amount, while job classification only predicted being a donor. Employee donors fell into five distinct clusters. These findings contribute to our knowledge of workplace giving campaigns and can be used to develop strategic marketing campaigns.
Public and academic discussion about the needs of people experiencing suicidality and psychological distress is focused on the improvement and expansion of clinical services. The potential of non-clinical, voluntary organisations providing comprehensive support is overlooked. This article reports findings from a realist evaluation of a charitable organisation in New Zealand that provides crisis respite. Two phases of data collection and analysis enabled the development of a programme theory explaining how respite supports people experiencing suicidality and distress. Data from interviews, participant observation, document analysis and a focus group were examined using thematic analysis. The study identified key outcomes of this respite service, along with the contextual factors and mechanisms that explain how these outcomes were generated. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of respite and the benefits of crisis services operating as charitable organisations. The apparent advantages of volunteerism are discussed in the context of a trend towards professionalisation in crisis intervention.
The recruitment of sufficient volunteers is a key challenge that many non-profit organisations face. There remains a lack of research exploring the implementation of best practice processes to recruit appropriate volunteers into relevant programmes. This paper details the processes underpinning a volunteer recruitment strategy for a community-based programme, reflects on the outcomes of recruitment, and discusses key learnings and implications for practice to guide other researchers and non-profit stakeholders to effectively recruit young adult volunteers.
Connections between religion and volunteering have been widely documented. Religion is a key motivating factor for volunteering in religious settings and elsewhere. Episodic volunteering is one of the fastest-growing forms of volunteering, but literature on episodic volunteering and religion is scarce. In this article, we analyse connections between religion and religiosity, and episodic volunteering. First, we identify types of episodic volunteers at religious events. Second, we use a set of three independent variables (declared religious denomination, importance of religion and spiritual motivation) to understand episodic volunteering participation. Third, we examine whether those who volunteer both episodically and regularly are more religious. Finally, we identify differences across religious affiliations. Using data from a cross-national survey, we apply different data segments in each area of our study. Our findings suggest that episodic volunteers are influenced by religion and religiosity, with especially strong connections among Protestants. We conclude with suggestions for future research.
