A Study On Development Environment Of Non-Government Social Work Institutions In Wenzhou In The Context Of " Three Party Collaboration (Sanshe Hudong)"

This article is based on probation and practical experience of civil social work institutions in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, against the backdrop of a local state initiative:"three party collaboration," that is, to integrate the forces of three parties:communities, social organizations, and social workers. I collect data through document studies, samplings, interviews, and participative observation in qualitative research. By using organizational environment theory and social embeddedness theory, this paper analyzes advantages and disadvantages in developmental environment of non-government social work agencies in the region. This study also raises suggestions on the growth of civil social work agencies, hoping to provide a reference for local authorities in making policies. It also offers new perspectives and empirical evidence for localization of social work in our nation.The study introduces general developments of non-government social work agencies in Wenzhou and its five patterns. I choose three typical samples as case studies, which examines developmental environment of non-government social work agencies in Wenzhou from three dimensions:political environment, cultural environment, and organizational base. I come to the following conclusions:first,"three party collaboration" created broad space for the development of civil social work agencies; secondly, there are many issues with booming civil social work agencies in Wenzhou such as imperfect organizational structure or low professional skills; thirdly, in terms of political environment, local governments are brave to formulate new policies and forcibly advance social work, which is conducive to the development of civil social work agencies. There are, however, issues of policy implementation, for instance, on the government to buy services or integrating investment from various channels; fourthly, in Wenzhou, it has been the tradition "to combine social responsibilities with fortune making," which paves the way for the development of civil social work agencies. However, the absence of social work program in advanced education in Wenzhou led to serious shortage in professional social workers; fifthly, regarding organizational base, Wenzhou has developed civil social welfare organizations that are eager to upgrade, which appears to be organizational source of civil social work agencies. College-graduate village cadre plan provides hope for social work in the countryside. But the ignorance of cultivation in professional skills and low wages in the construction of social worker teams became a major obstacle for the development of civil social work agencies. In conclusion, this study puts forward four suggestions for the development of civil social work agencies in Wenzhou for the reference of local decision makers:first, to ensure the government’s capacity to buy services and facilitate the input of money from the three parties; second, to advance the development of program incubation institutions and encourage new force in participating social work; third, to fasten the pace of the government and university/school cooperation to form the base for the integration of production, education and research; fourth, utilize internet technologies to forge a platform for information exchange.