Government–nonprofit relations in comparative perspective: evolution, themes and new directions

Abstract

Abstract This overview article for the Symposium on Government–Nonprofit Relations in Comparative Perspective summarizes our current understanding of government–nonprofit relations, addresses several themes emerging from the collective papers and Symposium discussions, and discusses new and evolving trends in government–nonprofit relations. The review of government–nonprofit relations encompasses governance models and their incorporation of nonprofits, sector failures and their contribution to government–nonprofit relationships, and cross‐sectoral analytic frameworks. Themes addressed include the material and normative benefits sought through nonprofits; various features of government–nonprofit interactions, including their increasing range and multiple facets, the impact of origins, relationship dynamism, and impacts; and what is public and what is private. The article concludes with the identification of selected new and evolving trends, including the influence of information technology on organizational structures and processes, the rise of supranational spheres of government–nonprofit interaction, the continuing tension between cooperation and identity maintenance, and simultaneous global lesson sharing and an emphasis on local‐level problem‐solving, where nonprofits are viewed as a means to maintaining continuity and redefining community. The article situates our understanding of government–nonprofit relations in a comparative perspective that accounts for dominant global paradigms, increasing interdependence among actors and nations, and evolving models of governance at all levels. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.