Discourses of Voluntary Action at two 'Transformational Moments' of the Welfare State, the 1940s and 2010s

1942年《贝弗里奇报告》的发表，以及随后英国全面福利服务的建立，被称为一个革命性的时刻。同样的术语也被用来描述目前英格兰福利服务正在被取消的背景。在这两个转型时刻，人们提出了关于国家以及志愿和社区部门在提供福利服务方面各自的角色和责任的基本问题。在第一次革命时期(20世纪40年代)，贝弗里奇报告提出了一系列措施来应对当时的“邪恶”。随后福利规定的重组导致许多志愿人员组织的结构和重点发生了重大变化，并就自愿行动的性质和范围进行了一段时间的激烈辩论。在我们目前的“革命性时刻”，由于国内和国际的重大事件，志愿人员服务作为福利服务提供者的作用得到加强，尽管资金被大幅削减。对国家角色的根本重新谈判正在进行中；我们正在进入一个关于自愿行动的性质和范围及其与国家和福利保障的关系的激烈辩论时期。总体目标是探索20世纪40年代和2010年代英国关于自愿行动在提供福利方面的作用的辩论。它将比较和对比流行的、政治的和VCS的话语。为了达到这一目标，我们回答了三组问题：1.与2010年代相比，1940年代VCS在提供社会福利方面的角色、地位和贡献的叙述有什么异同？根据社会起源理论，什么因素的组合，包括但不限于阶级力量的平衡，可以帮助解释1940年代和2010年代之间的叙事变化？2.志愿部门代表、政府官员和普通公众关于志愿部门和社区部门在社会福利提供中的角色、地位和贡献的叙述，首先是在1940年代，然后是到2010年代，其间有什么相似和不同之处？并且，借鉴战略行动领域的理论，不同的叙事在多大程度上以及如何反映领域塑造话语干预和参与者配置的变化？3.有什么证据表明不同的叙事是如何构建、表达、争论和传播的？而且，借助话语制度主义，在动乱和转型时期，不同的叙事在为争取“空间”和“常识”的斗争中是如何相互关联的，因为行为者试图框定行动并构建变革的可能性？我们解决这些问题的方法是探索：1.公共叙事：分析20世纪40年代至2010年代关于志愿行动和社会福利的群众观察指令，以及2017年委托的一份指令。2.国家叙述：分析关键的政府政策文件(如绿皮书和白皮书、议会法案)、1940年代和2010年代英国志愿部门在提供福利服务方面的作用的演讲和议会辩论(可查阅国家档案馆、历史议事录、议事录和各种网站)。3.志愿部门叙述：重点关注4个VCS组织(NCVO、Child England、NCVYS、Age UK)，审查它们在20世纪40年代和2010年代制作的关键声明、政策文件和出版物，并存储在其档案和网站中。这项为期两年的研究与NCVO、NCVYS、英国儿童组织、英国年龄组织和大众观察共同编制；由项目指导小组指导；并参与各种知识交流活动，通过建设能力、增强现有证据库和重组辩论，将有助于VCS政策和实践的发展

The publication of the Beveridge Report in 1942, and the subsequent establishment of comprehensive welfare services in the UK, was referred to as 'a revolutionary moment'. The same term has been used to describe the current context in which welfare services are being dismantled in England. At these two transformational moments, fundamental questions have been raised about the respective roles and responsibilities of the state and the voluntary and community sector (VCS) in welfare services provision. During the 1st revolutionary moment (1940s) the Beveridge report proposed a series of measures to address the 'evils' of the time. The subsequent restructuring of welfare provision led to significant changes in the structure and focus of many VCS organisations, and a period of intense debate about the nature and extent of the voluntary action. In our current 'revolutionary moment' as a result of major national and international events the role of the VCS as a welfare service provider has intensified despite severe cuts to funding. A fundamental renegotiation of the role of the state is underway; we are entering a period of intense debate about the nature and extent of voluntary action and its relationship to the state and welfare provision.The overarching aim is to explore the debates that have taken place on the role of voluntary action in the provision of welfare in the 1940s and 2010s in England. It will compare and contrast popular, political and VCS discourses. In order to meet this aim, we address 3 sets of questions: 1.What are the similarities and differences in narratives about the role, position and contribution of the VCS in the provision of social welfare in the 1940s compared with the 2010s? And, drawing on social origins theory, what combination of factors, including but not restricted to the balance of class forces, can help account for shifting narratives between the 1940s and 2010s? 2.What are the similarities and differences within and between the narratives of voluntary sector representatives, government officials, and the general public about the role, position and contribution of the voluntary and community sector in social welfare provision, firstly during the 1940s and secondly through the 2010s? And, drawing on the theory of strategic action fields, to what extent and how do different narratives reflect field shaping discursive interventions and a changing configuration of actors? 3.What evidence is there of how different narratives have been constructed, articulated, contested, and circulated? And, drawing on discursive institutionalism, how are different narratives related to each other in the struggle for 'room' and 'common sense' during periods of unsettlement and transition, as actors seek to frame action and construct the possibilities for change? Our approach to addressing these questions is to explore: 1.Public narratives: analysis of Mass Observation directives on voluntary action and social welfare from 1940s 2010s, plus one commissioned in 2017. 2.State narratives: analysis of key government policy documents (e.g. green and white papers, acts of parliament), speeches and parliamentary debates relating to the role of the voluntary sector in welfare service provision in England generated during the 1940s and 2010s (accessed from The National Archives, Historic Hansard, Hansard and various websites). 3. Voluntary sector narratives: focusing on 4 VCS organisations (NCVO, Children England, NCVYS, Age UK) review key statements, policy documents, and publications produced by them in the 1940s and 2010s, stored in their archives and websites. This 2 year study co-produced with NCVO, NCVYS, Children England, Age UK and Mass Observation; guided by a project Steering Group; and involving various knowledge exchange activities will contribute to the development of VCS policy and practice, through building capabilities, enhancing the existing evidence base and reframing debat