Taking Care of the Refugees: Exploring Advocacy and Cross-sector Collaboration in Service Provision for Refugees

This article explores the interplay and collaboration between refugee organization volunteers and social service professionals. On the basis of qualitative interviews and observations, we study how volunteers from Danish local refugee organizations experience their interaction with refugees and soci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Voluntas (Manchester, England) England), 2019-04, Vol.30 (2), p.422-435
Main Authors: Fehsenfeld, Michael, Levinsen, Klaus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advocacy
Autonomy
Campaigns
Civil society
Collaboration
Communication
Community organizations
Interest groups
Legitimacy
Networking
Original Paper
Political Science
Professionals
Refugees
Social Policy
Social Sciences
Social services delivery
Stakeholders
Strategies
Volunteers
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Summary:This article explores the interplay and collaboration between refugee organization volunteers and social service professionals. On the basis of qualitative interviews and observations, we study how volunteers from Danish local refugee organizations experience their interaction with refugees and social service professionals, and how they act and perceive their role as advocates for the refugees. The purpose is to gain insight into the everyday practices and strategies of civil society organizations attempting to balance the demands and interests of stakeholders and internal legitimacy claims in a hybrid environment. In addition to providing effective refugee assistance and services, refugee organizations achieve legitimacy through professional communication, campaign work, and networking with key political actors and stakeholders. However, although it may be less visible, advocacy-oriented activities also take place in local organizations at 'street level.' We identified three distinct types of strategies to balance issues of autonomy in the collaborative relationship with the municipalities and simultaneously engage in advocacy activities.
ISSN:0957-8765
1573-7888
DOI:10.1007/s11266-019-00097-5