Power, Connection, Collaboration - Australian civil society organisations meeting community need in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Civil society is often trumpeted as a solution for various democratic ailments, including declining political participation and the perils of populism. In meeting these challenges, CSOs must balance their connections with the communities they represent with the need to generate impact and influence, particularly when engaged in charitable service delivery or systemic advocacy. So, how does (or indeed should) the modern CSO balance community need with the demands of running a modern organisation? How do these choices impact the way CSOs connect with communities? This thesis develops two unique theoretical contributions and explores them through a dataset of Australian CSO practitioners reflecting on their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first is a framework positing four types of CSO activity based on the nature of the connection and decision-making relationship between CSOs and community members. The second identifies ten CSO activities, including ‘enabling’ activities that are revealed to be underexplored in CSO literature. The utility of these frameworks is demonstrated by: (1) a detailed case study of CSO activity supporting international students in Sydney during COVID-19, which shows how CSOs can ‘coordinate networks’, ‘host-space’ and conduct research’; and (2) a series of shorter case studies – including mutual aid around food security, support for public housing residents during lockdowns, and advocacy for increased social welfare payments – which demonstrate various ways CSOs can engage community members, manage their organisational needs and work collaboratively. Overall, ‘Honeycomb’ approaches to CSO activities – with decentralised power relations and relational connections – are found within a variety of successful Australian CSO activities during COVID-19. I argue that by focusing on Honeycomb connections with people and communities, CSOs can navigate various dilemmas in ways that improve democratic outcomes.