Participatory action research with and within community activist groups: Capturing the collective experience of Ireland's Community and Voluntary Pillar in social partnershiprganisations in Ireland,

Carney, G. M., Dundon, T., & Ni Léime, Á. Participatory action research with and within community activist groups: Capturing the collective experience of Ireland's Community and Voluntary Pillar in social partnership. Action Research, 10(3), 313-330.

Abstract

This paper advances knowledge of roles played by Civil Society Organisations (CSO s) when negotiating the shift from boom time public expenditure to a programme of austerity. The study focuses on the Republic of Ireland, where CSOs occupy an important role in providing a voice for vulnerable citizens in corporatism. A cadre of national umbrella organizations formed the Community and Voluntary Pillar (CVP) of the national system of corporatist bargaining, named social partnership , for over a decade. During the economic growth of the Celtic Tiger era (1994-2007), social partners worked together to produce welfare reform mirroring Ireland s economic success. However the global financial crisis and subsequent austerity measures meant the country s model of corporatist-style partnership collapsed. This article connects CSOs adaptation to austerity measures when protecting the people behind the cuts to broader questions about co-optation of civil society through state-led policy making institutions.

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Publisher

SAGE Journals

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland

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Irish Centre for Social Gerontology (Scholarly Articles)