<p>Abstract</p><p>The landscape of socially oriented NGOs – a study of how they are created and established in</p><p>a local Swedish context.</p><p>This thesis is an inquiry into local, socially oriented non-governmental organizations (NGOs)</p><p>in Swedish municipalities. Previous research has indicated that changes in the monitoring and</p><p>steering of financial support during the 1990s altered the conditions for and practices of</p><p>NGOs. The inquiry – based on archival material and interviews with organization</p><p>representatives from the twelve NGOs receiving financial support from the social welfare</p><p>board in Växjö municipality – showed instead that the organizations were unaffected by the</p><p>changes, and that the set of recipient organizations had been stable over time. A comparison</p><p>with four other communities reveals that the same pattern is repeated in other municipalities</p><p>of similar size. The purpose of the thesis is to develop a theoretical framework to account for</p><p>stability in sets of recipient organizations. It is argued that set stability is explained by</p><p>affiliations with well-known national organizations, in conjunction with the boundary-work of</p><p>the local organizations.</p>

The landscape of socially oriented NGOs – a study of how they are created and established in a local Swedish context. This thesis is an inquiry into local, socially oriented non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Swedish municipalities. Previous research has indicated that changes in the monitoring and steering of financial support during the 1990s altered the conditions for and practices of NGOs. The inquiry – based on archival material and interviews with organization representatives from the twelve NGOs receiving financial support from the social welfare board in Växjö municipality – showed instead that the organizations were unaffected by the hanges, and that the set of recipient organizations had been stable over time. A comparison with four other communities reveals that the same pattern is repeated in other municipalities of similar size. The purpose of the thesis is to develop a theoretical framework to account for stability in sets of recipient organizations. It is argued that set stability is explained by affiliations with well-known national organizations, in conjunction with the boundary-work of the local organizations.