This important book is the first edited collection to provide an up to date and comprehensive overview of the third sector's role in public service delivery. Exploring areas such as social enterprise, capacity building, volunteering and social value, the authors provide a platform for academic and policy debates on the topic. Drawing on research carried out at the ESRC funded Third Sector Research Centre, the book charts the historical development of the state-third sector relationship, and reviews the major debates and controversies accompanying recent shifts in that relationship. It is a valuable resource for social science academics and postgraduate students as well as policymakers and practitioners in the public and third sectors in fields such as criminal justice, health, housing and social care.

James Rees is a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham. His research concentrates on the role of the third sector in public service delivery, cross-sectoral partnership, organisational change and the involvement of citizens.

David Mullins is Professor of Housing Policy in the Housing and Communities Research Group at the University of Birmingham. His research interests include the role of the third sector and social enterprise in public service delivery.

Introduction ~ James Rees and David Mullins;

Part One: Policy, Politics and Organisations;

The history of third sector service delivery in the UK ~ Pete Alcock;

Same tensions, different results? Third sector-state relations in a changing political and socio-economic context ~ Heather Buckingham;

Which third sector organisations are involved in the delivery of public services? Evidence from national survey data in England ~ John Mohan and David Clifford;

Part Two: Cross-cutting issue for third sector service delivery;

Social enterprise, mutuals and spin-outs in the era of 'open' public services ~ Robin Miller and Fergus Lyon;

Capacity building for competition: the role of infrastructure in third sector service delivery ~ Rob Macmillan;

The role of volunteers in service delivery ~ Angela Ellis-Paine and Matt Hill;

The concept of social value and the third sector: definitions, theories and measurements ~ Malin Arvidson and Helen Kara;

Part Three: Service delivery in key policy fields;

Understanding the third sector's role and position in employment services provision ~ Rebecca Taylor, James Rees and Chris Damm;

All change? The impact of personalisation for the third sector in health and social care ~ Jenny Harlock and Robin Miller;

Housing and the Third Sector - Enacted hybridity and diversification ~ David Mullins;

The third sector and the rehabilitation revolution ~ Rob Macmillan;

Conclusion and the future for the Third Sector's role in service delivery ~ James Rees and David Mullins.