This book highlights the most recent social, cultural and institutional developments of the third sector in Europe and the US. It is an inter-disciplinary text, which convenes the contribution of scholars belonging to different areas in the social science sphere (sociologists, political scientists, jurists). Particularly, the focus is to evaluate the role of different agents, relationships and social policies not just from a service provision perspective but also in their true impact in shaping the society as a whole, while trying to address its most crucial needs. Furthermore, the presentation of the main and most recent empirical evidences from different contexts stimulates some very useful remarks about the current and perspective situation at a global level. The book is divided into three parts: the first one puts in comparison different theoretical approaches towards the definition and the interpretation of the third sector. The second set of chapters may be considered an attempt to understand more in depth the profound inter-connections between third sector organizations and other actors in the welfare system, by analyzing significant experiences from different European countries. The third part of the book contains the report of a number of different researches, in the attempt to validate what previously debated from a theoretical point of view.

Helmut K. Anheier – Director of the Center for Civil Society at the School of Public Affairs of the University of California, Los Angeles, where he is also a Professor of Social Welfare. From 1998 to 2002 he was the founding director of Centre for Civil Society at the London School of Economics, and a member of LSE’s Department of Social Policy, where he now holds the honorary title of Centennial Professor. Prior to this he was a Senior Research Associate and Project Co-director at the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies, and Associate Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University. Before embarking on an academic career, Dr. Anheier served as Social Affairs Offi cer with the United Nations. He has also held research appointments at Yale University, the University of Cologne, and the Science Center in Berlin.

Lucia Boccacin – Professor of Sociology of the Third Sector at the Catholic University of Milan (Italy). She is author of several research and theoretical work concerning the third sector, the social policy for the human services, the social capital and the family, the social partnership. Her recent publications include: Third Sector Towards a Social Partnership in Italy (2005), Il terzo settore tra le generazioni. Un’analisi delle relazioni tra i soggetti del welfare plurale (2003), Terzo settore: I molti volti del caso italiano (1997). Ivo Colozzi – Full Professor of Sociology and Social Planning at the University of Bologna (Italy). He has coordinated many national surveys on the Third Sector, social policy; civil society and religion. His recent publications include: Terzo settore e valorizzazione del capitale sociale in Italia: luoghi e attori (eds. con P. Donati) (2006), Sociologia della morale (2004), Da Terzo settore a Imprese sociali (con A. Bassi) (2003).

Ivo Colozzi – Full Professor of Sociology and Social Planning at the Università degli Studi di Bologna. He has coordinated many national surveys on the Third Sector, social policy; civil society and religion. His recent publications include: Terzo settore e valorizzazione del capitale sociale in Italia: luoghi e attori (eds con P. Donati) (2006), Sociologia della morale (2004), Da Terzo settore a Imprese sociali (con A. Bassi) (2003).

Paul Dekker – Head of the ‘Participation and government’ research group of the Social and Cultural Planning Offi ce of the Netherlands in The Hague and Professor at Tilburg University. His recent publications include; The Values of Volunteering: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (with Loek Halman) (2003), Social Capital and Participation in Everyday Life (ed. with E. Uslaner).

Francesco Dellisanti – He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Research Methodology from the Catholic University of Milan and is currently collaborating with the Department of Sociology of the same university and with the Lombardy Regional Institute for Research (IReR). His research interests include the third sector, the plural welfare systems, the public-private partnerships within the health and social care sector, the social capital. He performed part of his research as a visiting scholar at the School of Public Affairs of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Pierpaolo Donati – Full Professor of Sociology of Welfare at the University of Bologna (Italy), where he serves also as Chair of the Post- Graduate Course (Ph.D.) in Sociology and as Director of the Centre of Research on Social Policy and Sociology of Health. Past-President of the Italian Association of Sociology, he has been member of many national and international Committees in public and private institutions of scientifi c research and advisory boards in social policies. In the years 2000-2005 he has served as Counsellor in the Board of the International Institute of Sociology (IIS). He is also the Director of the National Observatory on the Family attached to the Italian Government. He has published more than 500 works in the fi elds of sociological theory, sociology of the family, youth, citizenship, social policies, third sector, social capital and civil society. He is the editor of the journal “Sociologia e Politiche Sociali” (“Sociology and Social Policy”).

Fabio Ferrucci – Professor of Sociology of the Third Sector at the University of Macerata, where he also serves as the Director of the Degree in Communication Sciences. He has conducted research and published several essays with an emphasis on the characteristics of the social foundations and community foundations.

Jean-Louis Laville – Sociologist, Co-director of the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Economic Sociology (CNRS), France. His main fi elds of research are civil society and plural economy, and sociology of the third sector in an historical and comparative perspective. Recent publications include: The Third Sector in Europe (ed. with A. Evers) (2004), Les services sociaux entre associations, état et marché (with M. Nyssens) (2001).

Diana Leat – Director of the Creative Philanthropy Programme at Carnegie UK Trust. Visiting Professor at City University Business School. She has been a consultant to various grantmaking foundations in the UK and Australia reviewing their policies and practices. She has spent several periods in Australia over the past decade, including some time at Philanthropy Australia and at the Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofi t Studies at Queensland University of Technology. She has been Senior Fellow at the Policy Studies Institute, London. She has published extensively on philanthropy and the nonprofi t sector.

Andrea Perrone – Professor of Commercial Law at the Catholic University of Piacenza (Italy). He has published several papers on the role of foundations in the Italian legislative system. He recently was member of the Committee for the White Paper on the non profi t organisations for the National Authority for Non Profi t Organizations.

Giovanna Rossi – Full Professor of Sociology of the Family at the Catholic University of Milan (Italy), where she also serves as Secretary of the Athenaeum Centre for Family Studies and Research. She is Coordinator of the Scientifi c Comittee of the Italian Sociology Association (AIS) - Division of Social Policy. She has joined the scientifi c committees of several sociological journals and is the editor of the journal “Politiche sociali e servizi” (“Social policy and services”). Her most recent international publication is Reconciling family and work: new challenge for social policies in Europe (ed. 2006).

Giancarlo Rovati – Full Professor of Sociology at the Catholic University of Milan (Italy) and President of the Commission for the Survey on the Social Exclusion for the Italian Government. He is also a chartered member of the Register of Evaluators of the European Community. His recent publication include: Le dimensioni della povertà. Strumenti di misura e politiche (2006).

Marilyn Taylor – Full Professor of Urban Governance and Regeneration and Director of the Cities Research Centre at the University of West England, Bristol, UK. Her main current research interest are in the fi eld of community participation, neighbourhood renewal and relationships between government and the third sector. Recent publications include Making Connections: an evaluation of the Community Participation Programmes (Cities Research Centre 2005), Public Policy in the Community (2003), Contract or trust: the role of compacts in local governance (2002), Partnership Working: policy and practice (2001).

Giorgio Vittadini – Full Professor of Methodological Statistics at the University of Milan Bicocca and President of the Italian Foundation for Subsidiarity. He is the author of numerous publications on social and economic themes, particularly regarding subsidiarity, human capital, non profi t and services evaluation and is one of the main protagonist of the national Italian debate on the issues concerning the introduction of subsidiarity-oriented policies.