Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2008
Abstract
In the study of government-nonprofit power relationships, influence, authority, and accountability are often thought to be the purview of government and the burden of nonprofit service providers. A concern during this era of scarce financial resources and tight regulatory oversight is that the acceptance of public funds will impede the nonprofit's ability to implement local innovations that build upon and support the expectations of a variety of key stakeholders (governing boards, service consumers, the public-at-large, and government/private funders). This paper examines the conditions under which federally funded nonprofit organizations exercise autonomy by pursuing ventures that resist conforming influences of government funders. Semi-structured interviews with nonprofit executives and past and present Federal government administrators will provide insight into the questions, how, and to what end, does government resource dependency affect innovative practices in nonprofit sector programs? What strategies do agencies adopt to manage the tension between funder requirements and innovative opportunity in the context of resource- dependent environments? The paper draws upon institutional theory, resource dependency theory, and disruptive innovation theory to examine these issues.
Keywords
investment of public funds, institutional theory, resource dependency theory, disruptive innovation, grounded theory, nonprofit organizations, head start, federal funding
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Hosea, Marilyn Ayenew, "Breakthroughs: Examining the Conditions in Which Highly Regulated Government Funded Programs Generate Innovative Practices" (2008). Student Scholarship. 111.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/111