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Summary Social work practice is increasingly confronted with the dilemma of specialisation versus generalism. This article embraces the idea of a network that combines the strengths of specialist and generalist service organisations. We focus on the role of generalist service providers in a network of specialist organisations. We conduct 25 interviews with social workers in a network of service organisations in a single district in Antwerp, Belgium. Social workers ( n = 15) from specialist service organisations are interviewed to determine how they perceive collaboration with social workers from generalist service organisations. We also include the perspectives of 10 respondents affiliated with generalist service agencies. Findings The results show that generalists facilitate interactions between specialists and their clients. Their holistic perspective on the complex problems of very vulnerable clients allows them to fulfil critical functions such as brokering information and mediating when conflicts arise. Application Our analysis provides a better understanding of the role of generalist organisations in a network of specialist service organisations. This article concludes that further research on the importance of collaboration, networks and generalist practice is necessary to further develop a research agenda that focuses on how social work is able to address the complex problems of vulnerable target groups.

AbstractIn the last decades, activation policies and practices aimed at getting people off benefits and into work have been at the forefront of social policy. One of the challenges of activation practices is that social services with a narrow specialist focus fall short in supporting vulnerable target groups. A growing body of social work literature recognises that both generalist and specialist social works play an important role in supporting vulnerable target groups that face wicked problems. We conducted a participatory action research on how specialist social workers may adopt the principles of generalist social work in counselling and guiding people with multiple and complex needs towards the labour market.

Summary Forensic social work is often portrayed as a specialized area within the field of social work. Nevertheless, the target group of forensic social work is confronted with a variety of problems in different life domains. The literature reveals the importance of generalist social work to address the complex needs of vulnerable target groups. However, little has been written or studied about what generalist social work should entail in the field of forensic social work. This article addresses the value of generalist social work for the practice of forensic social work. We conduct 14 interviews with social workers affiliated with forensic social work organizations in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Findings The results show that generalist social work plays a pivotal role in forensic social work. A generalist approach is indispensable to meeting the complex problems of the vulnerable target group of offenders. Our study makes a distinction between five different roles adopted by generalist social workers affiliated with forensic social work organizations when providing services and support to the target group of offenders. In addressing the needs of this target group, they act as a broker, a mediator, a key figure, a safety net and as an advocate. Applications Despite some specific needs and skills required in the field of forensic social work, a generalist approach is critical to a more responsive social work approach towards the target group of offenders.

This article analyzes the roles an advocacy coalition undertakes to support nonprofit organizations to cope with the challenges caused by lockdown and physical distance measures to stop COVID-19. We find that social workers and nonprofit members of the coalition created different kinds of solutions and innovative practices to support vulnerable target groups when confronted with the COVID-19 crisis and the resulting lockdown regulations. In particular, we show that the coalition was pushed to diversify its activities, leading to the development of three roles: a direct and indirect advocacy role, a brokerage role to provide information on new practices, and a crowdfunding role to provide finances for material aid. We conclude by emphasizing the implications of our analysis for both theory and practice.

By integrating literature on governance processes with literature on network integration, we investigate the governance of mandated lead-organization public–nonprofit service networks. We argue that the relationship between the governing public actor and the participating nonprofit organizations as well as the governance processes involved are dependent upon the level of integration that is established in the network in terms of the centrality of the leading public agency and the density among the nonprofit actors. We formulate four propositions and distinguish archetypes of governance that guide further research and practice.

This study investigates how policy advocacy strategies employed by nonprofit organizations (NPOs) affect the willingness of policymakers to act upon policy inputs. In a 2 × 2 full-factorial research experiment, we presented 706 Flemish municipal policymakers with four realistic scenarios describing an advocacy campaign of a local welfare nonprofit. In the scenarios, we apply two modes of advocacy tactics (direct or indirect) and two modes of NPO representation (professional staff members or self-advocates). The findings indicate a high likeliness to act on NPO policy inputs throughout the policy process, albeit with a small drop during the formulation stage. Small but significant increases in likeliness to act are noted when policymakers are confronted with either direct advocacy tactics or professional advocates.

Summary In Western welfare states, public and non-profit service organizations are increasingly looking for ways to combine the efforts and expertise of professionals and volunteers to provide support and services to vulnerable target groups. However, little is known about how professionals and volunteers collaborate to provide these social services and support. The aim of this qualitative study is to analyze how professionals support volunteers in a befriending project, where volunteers provide support to people after they are released from prison. Therefore, we interviewed social workers (n = 4) and volunteers (n = 13). Findings Our results show that professionals provide tailor-made support to volunteers through different interventions: they share their knowledge and expertise, provide emotional support, and advise and coach the volunteers. Furthermore, in complex cases, professionals intervene to access appropriate social support and realize the rights of those involved. Applications Our findings provide a comprehensive perspective on how complementarity is constructed in the daily practice of collaboration between volunteers and professionals. Although professional interventions and support are necessary to address the needs of vulnerable people, volunteers offer a wider range of support than professionals alone can provide. Consequently, close collaboration between volunteers and professionals can result in a valuable response to the needs of people who have recently left prison. However, when a client's situation becomes complex and volunteers lack the skills, experience, and status to deal with it, professionals are advised to take over.

AbstractThis study analyses the perspectives of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) on workplace diversity. Organizational diversity is a well‐established research topic in both profit management and organization studies, as well as in nonprofit scholarship. However, diversity is often discussed from a managerial point of view and, particularly in nonprofits, with little attention to workplace diversity. Using interview data from 25 Belgian NPOs, we explore how leaders in different types of nonprofits approach workplace diversity, discursively and in their organizational practices. Our analysis is centered around Maier and Meyer's typology on nonprofit governance and aims to understand how workplace diversity is perceived in organizations with a domestic, professionalist, grassroots, and civic discourse. We outline the main diversity perspectives underlying these governance discourses. Our study reveals that the way NPO leaders approach workplace diversity is shaped by their overall governance, resulting in differing discourses that go beyond business or social justice rationales. We conclude that there are various ways in which NPOs differentiate diversity, making it important not only to go beyond a managerial/business and social justice discourse, but also to unpack the different forms in which civic or grassroots discourses for example manifest themselves in the nonprofit sector.