Presents a fresh perspective on the third sector. Rather than considering non-governmental organizations separately from voluntary agencies, this title explores the similarities, differences and growing connections between them in both Northern and Southern contexts.

Introduction: The Parallel Universes of Third Sector Research and the Changing Context of Voluntary Action * Part 1: Linkages and Learning - Crossing the Great Divide: Building Links and Learning Between NGO and Community-Based Organizations in North and South * Social Learning in South-North Coalitions: Constructing Knowledge Systems Across Social Chasms * The Third World's Third Sector in Comparative Perspective * Part 2: Contrasts and Complementariness - Voluntary Sector Governance - Problems in Practice and Theory in the United Kingdom and North America * NGO Governing Bodies and Beyond: A Southern Perspective on Third Sector Governance Issues * Building NGO Legitimacy In Bangladesh: The Contested Domain * The Trouble with Values * Citizen Organizations as Policy Entrepreneurs * Influencing Policy: A UK Voluntary Sector Perspective * Evaluation and the Voluntary (Nonprofit) Sector: Emerging Issues * Evaluating NGO Development Interventions * Advocacy and Third Sector Organizations: A Composite Perspective * Legitimacy and Values in NGOs and Voluntary Organizations: Some Sceptical Thoughts * Postscript: Reshaping the Third Sector * Index