Interaction of the Voluntary and Governmental Sectors

Abstract

Fiscal strain and the demandfor more responsive service delivery have combined to create an interest in new ways of involving citizens in municipal service delivery systems and of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of public service delivery. I suggest in this article that a clear understanding of the relationship between the governmental and voluntary sectors of our society offers a means of accomplishing both ends. I explore the logic of the processes by which public services are coproduced by the actions of public employees and citizen consumers in order to discover ways in which government structures and policies can facilitate or inhibit voluntary, collective effort at community betterment, and ways in which voluntary efforts can impact the needfor and cost of government services.