FABSS Inaugural Professorial Lecture Series: Professor James Rees

Should voluntary sector organisations deliver ‘failing’ public services? Should charities campaign and be ‘political’? What is the role of civil society in creating a more cohesive society?

These are normative questions and in my inaugural lecture I will use them to frame a reflection on the past, present and future roles of civil society in creating a good society and thriving places. There is little agreement about what roles voluntary sector organisations should play and how: should they plug gaps where the state is failing, should they ‘keep out of politics’ while ‘sticking to their knitting’. Should they be professional and demonstrate their impact, or be entirely voluntary and make a virtue of ‘amateurism’? The very prosaic role of civil society creating a liveable and cohesive society is often forgotten. I will draw on a range of past research projects, publications and collaborations to argue first that we need a better understanding of civil society in its complexity and heterogeneity. Research shows that a more nuanced understanding of what different types of organisations do, in different social and policy contexts, and crucially, how they do it, which can in turn lead to a better appreciation of how voluntary and public sectors can work together to address societal challenges. Ultimately I argue for a realistic and balanced (rather than celebratory) assessment of what civil society can achieve – against major constraints – in a country that faces huge challenges.

James Rees is Professor of Civil Society and Public Policy and Deputy Director of the Institute for Community Research and Development at the University of Wolverhampton and is a highly experienced researcher in the fields of public policy and public services, with a longer-term track record in urban governance, economic development and regeneration. His current research has focused on the voluntary sector in the UK, particularly its role in public service delivery and he is also recognised for his work on leadership, citizen involvement and co-production. He is an editor of the Voluntary Sector Review journal, edited the Social Policy Review series between 2018-2021, and has published books on the role of the voluntary sector in responding to Covid-19 (2022), its contribution to social welfare and public services (2016), and on place leadership (forthcoming in 2025).

Host or Publisher Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Science (FABSS)