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Although a number of valuable models of central-local relationships in the nonprofit sector have been developed, particularly in relation to federal structures, there has been a tendency to assume that in any given organizational relationship central-local structures will follow one common pattern. We argue that wider strategies are available: central dependency along one dimension may run with greater local autonomy along another. Such mixed tight-loose structures may be of considerable importance in the “boundaryless” organizational environment of the future.

Commonly, voluntary organisations are formally accountable to their memberships, but the rights of members to influence organisational policies are often minimal. Members may be recruited by organisations to provide funding, legitimacy and voluntary help; members may join in order to obtain material benefits, to express support for organisations' goals and, in some cases, to influence policy. The disjunction between these two sets of expectations can lead to disputes in large voluntary bodies, especially those whose members hold a wide range of ideological positions. This creates problems for those running the organisations, who both have to account to a variety of other groups and also maintain their public legitimacy. Illustrations of some of these issues are drawn from environmental organisations, particularly the National Trust.

Intermediary bodies liaise between the voluntary and statutory sectors. Frequently, they have also functioned as local development bodies. This article examines changes in the position of intermediary bodies following the growth of welfare pluralistic policies in the late 1980s, as viewed from the framework of a case study of the Council for Voluntary Service in northwest England. The author concludes that while the voluntary and statutory sectors may now be more willing to accept an intermediary role for such bodies, it remain difficult for them also to undertake development work.

The UK has, over recent years, moved from a ‘welfare state’ to a more ‘market-oriented’ system of welfare. But the extent of this change has varied considerably according to the ideological position of local government in different parts of the country. This makes it possible within one country to assess the implications for the voluntary sector of different models of welfare. This article develops a framework for looking at different welfare ideologies and the values they espouse, with reference both to the UK and to the models that exist in other countries. It then takes four examples of UK local authorities which demonstrate the different models and examines the implications for the voluntary sector. In doing so, it examines the prospects for the voluntary sector to deliver both service and political pluralism in the future.