Gap Between the ‘Ought’ and the ‘is’ of the Third Sector: A Qualitative Case Study of Andalusia (Spain)

ABSTRACT

The origin of the Third Sector (TS) in Spain is rooted in the defence of social rights and demands made of the State regarding social transformation. With the development of the Welfare State, the role of the TS has progressively changed, becoming primarily a provider of services to Public Administrations (PAs), and moving away from its roots advocating and demanding social justice. This article examines the distance between the original intentions (‘ought’) and the current day-to-day actions (‘is’) of the TS in the case of the region of Andalusia (Spain), focusing on a three-dimensional analysis: the objectives that mark its action, its funding model, and relations within the organisation. Using a qualitative methodology based on Thematic Content Analysis, the discourses of actors involved in the TS (managers, professionals, volunteers, users, public administration professionals, and other actors) have been analysed and linked, concluding that the gap generated between intention and deed, or ‘ought’ and ‘is’, are the result of external contextual elements, but also of decisions made within the TS.

KEYWORDS:

• Third sector
• volunteering
• social intervention
• funding
• professionals
• ethics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain [grant number CSO2017-85486-P].

Notes on contributors

Auxiliadora González-Portillo

Auxiliadora González-Portillo PhD in Social Sciences. Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Services at the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville). Her main lines of research are social intervention with vulnerable and excluded groups, public policies on social services and the work of NGOs.

Germán Jaraíz-Arroyo

Germán Jaraíz-Arroyo PhD in Social Sciences. Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Services at the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville). His main lines of research are social intervention comunity, public policies on social services and the work of NGOs.