Public Sector Volunteering: Committed Staff, Multiple Logics, and Contradictory Strategies

Abstract

Volunteers in government agencies are significant in the delivery of public services. The participation of these volunteers, however, is not straightforward and is restricted by conflicts between their needs and those of the agency. Although volunteer perspectives have been investigated, less is known about the experience of frontline staff. Using a qualitative study of a municipal ecology center in Canada, the author explores how a staff team committed to volunteers can develop and implement strategies that minimize volunteer involvement. Drawing on a central idea in institutional theory, institutional logics, the author identifies how the blending of elements from three main logics—professionalism, new public management, and community participation—-can create contradictions in the staff’s strategies toward volunteers. For those seeking greater participation of volunteers in public services, the findings suggest a need to recognize and assist frontline staff in navigating the institutional context that can shape volunteer—staff relationships.