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Across Canada, provincial governments are engaged in a 'third wave' of consultations, policy dialogues, and policy alignment strategies with the third sector. Unexplored to date is how provincial governments internally administer their third sector file. This internal configuration could have important implications for internal adherence to cross-cutting policy mandates as well as third sector policy implementation and bilat eral collaboration agreements. This is a new point of analysis for public administrators and third sector intermediary organizations alike. This comparative analysis of network governance structures in eight provincial governments reveals that some structures are more compatible with policy alignment and implementation than others. Dans tout le Canada, les gouvernements provinciaux participent a une ' troisieme vague ' de consultations, de dialogues sur les politiques, et de strategies d'alignement des politiques avec le secteur benevole et communautaire. Inexploree jusqu'a present, la question est de savoir comment les gouvernements provinciaux administrent a Tinterne leur secteur benevole et communautaire. Cette configuration interne pourrait avoir des repercussions importantes sur Tadherence interne aux mandats en matiere d'orientations multidisciplinaires ainsi que sur la mise en oeuvre des politiques du secteur benevole et communautaire et sur les accords de collaboration bilateraux. II s'agit d'un nouveau point d'analyse a la fois pour les administrateurs du secteur public et pour les organismes intermediaires du secteur benevole et communautaire. Cette analyse comparative des structures de gouvernance de reseaux au sein de huit gouvernements provinciaux revele que certaines structures sont plus compatibles que d'autres avec Talignement et la mise en oeuvre des politiques., In the 1970s, a first wave of sector-wide consultations and formal reviews took place in several countries, including Canada, of third sector (nonprofit and voluntary) organizations. Foremost among these were [...]

Following a dismal and antagonistic relationship that coincided with three years of deep and sustained cuts to the voluntary sector in the mid 1990s, voluntary sector-federal government relations in Canada finally began to thaw. A number of high level joint meetings between the federal government and voluntary sector leaders in 1999 led to the announcement in June, 2000 of a joint initiative to “renew and strengthen their long-standing relationship”. This five-year $94.6 million investment entitled the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI) included the signing of a Voluntary Sector Accord; personnel exchange programs; policy engagement projects; two major national surveys; a national volunteerism initiative; and numerous capacity building projects.The VSI program ended in 2005 with a change in the governing Liberal party leadership and the subsequent election of a minority Conservative government. Drawing on John Kingdon’s multiple streams framework, this article takes a broad analysis of problems, policies, and political processes across multiple provinces to examine if the VSI may have influenced a third wave of sub-national level policy initiatives. While contextual differences at a provincial level clearly influence the status, structure, and scope of sub-national voluntary sector-government relations, it appears the VSI did contribute in a number of ways to these sub-national initiatives.