Dimensions of power : a Bourdieusian approach to control and influence in the voluntary sector

McGovern, PBM

Abstract

This extended case study investigates locally-founded voluntary self-help groups for
people with chronic disease and how they change over time. It explores a self-help
group and its partnerships with five local organisations. The aims are both to reach
substantive findings and to elaborate Bourdieusian theory. The key concepts are habitus
(disposition) and capital (resources). The methods are: participant observation (110
hours) and depth interviews (23).
In the self-help group, a funding crisis arose after its Lottery grant was
exhausted in 2006. This led to the election of honorary officers who had skills in
gaining external funding. These members gained short-term primary care trust (PCT)
funding to expand and professionalise the organisation but when this finished, they cut
the range of therapies on offer against the wishes of many members. This led to
challenges to their leadership from the family that founded the group and the volunteers.
The evidence suggests that oligarchic tendencies within such groups may be resisted
both formally through the democratic structure and informally through volunteering
activities. Among cross-sector partners, the PCT had most influence over the direction
of development of the self-help group because it provided grant funding. Even so, the
group was not saturated by PCT targets. It retained a unique identity derived from its
founding mission. The evidence shows that, because such groups are institutionally
independent, it is possible for them to retain substantial control over their own
development.
These substantive findings may be useful to researchers and to small voluntary
organisations. In addition, a theoretical model of the power relations of development in
small self-help groups has been created, with dimensions that range from face-to-face
contact between individuals through to the influence of state power on organisational
assumptions. This model is in the early stages of elaboration and can be tested in
further research.

Citation

McGovern, P. Dimensions of power : a Bourdieusian approach to control and influence in the voluntary sector. (Thesis). Salford : University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Additional Information: Access Information : At the author’s request this item is not available. You may be able to access the hard copy by visiting the University of Salford Library
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2011