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<p>In the beginning of the nineties there was a change in how the voluntary sector was perceived, and the significance of their work became reevaluated and more acknowledged. As a result, this sector gained a new and higher interest. The changes and downsizing in the welfare state with economic crises, due to political cutback, made the politicians look fore new solutions. One solution is to encourage cooperation between the public sector and the voluntary sector in order to handle the different needs of individuals.</p><p>Uppsala community and the voluntary sector are working closely together within a project called “God Livsmiljö”. The purpose of the project is to work for a better quality of life for elderly people and dysfunctional persons, as well as for the ones who are nursing family or someone close at home.</p><p>The aim of this paper is to investigate if the cooperation between the community in Uppsala and the voluntary sector contributes to the social welfare in Uppsala.</p><p>This essay is conducted through a qualitative case study. I have used a method based on interviews combined with four selected theories which explain the voluntary sector from different perspectives. My results show that the voluntary sector’s contribution to the welfare through the project is of importance. Furthermore, the work of the voluntary sector can be seen as complementary, more on a human level, to the service delivered by the community. There has proved to be no competition between the two sectors. This study shows that the emerging of a strong voluntary sector not mainly is an effect of downsizing of social welfare. There could also be an explanation to the voluntary sector as a reaction to the change of family structure in the modern society.</p>

In the beginning of the nineties there was a change in how the voluntary sector was perceived, and the significance of their work became reevaluated and more acknowledged. As a result, this sector gained a new and higher interest. The changes and downsizing in the welfare state with economic crises, due to political cutback, made the politicians look fore new solutions. One solution is to encourage cooperation between the public sector and the voluntary sector in order to handle the different needs of individuals. Uppsala community and the voluntary sector are working closely together within a project called “God Livsmiljö”. The purpose of the project is to work for a better quality of life for elderly people and dysfunctional persons, as well as for the ones who are nursing family or someone close at home. The aim of this paper is to investigate if the cooperation between the community in Uppsala and the voluntary sector contributes to the social welfare in Uppsala. This essay is conducted through a qualitative case study. I have used a method based on interviews combined with four selected theories which explain the voluntary sector from different perspectives. My results show that the voluntary sector’s contribution to the welfare through the project is of importance. Furthermore, the work of the voluntary sector can be seen as complementary, more on a human level, to the service delivered by the community. There has proved to be no competition between the two sectors. This study shows that the emerging of a strong voluntary sector not mainly is an effect of downsizing of social welfare. There could also be an explanation to the voluntary sector as a reaction to the change of family structure in the modern society.