Leah Gose – Sociology, Harvard University

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Hidden Networks of Collaboration: Constraining Forces and Local Interorganizational Ties in Social Service Provision

Abstract: Social service organizations provide vital services to a growing population of disadvantaged individuals and families. Contemporary research primarily focuses on how such organizations weather financial threats by cutting costs in the wake of welfare reform. However, local organizations that directly serve beneficiaries must additionally address changes in the increased demand for their services. Using a case study of direct-service organizations (DSOs) working in hunger relief, I find that rather than just cut costs, DSOs mobilize their horizontal, community-based ties to other local organizations to buffer various changes in the supply of important resources and the demand for their services. These horizontal ties are used to expand services and secure funding, resource donations, volunteer assistance, and referrals. I contribute to a growing body of work suggesting that sociological research on wellbeing among disadvantaged people should pay attention not merely to individuals and neighborhoods but also to local, direct-service organizations, and, particularly, their interorganizational ties.