The Growth In Induced Social Organizations Under The Background Of Project-based Government Purchase

The transition from a regulate-oriented government to a serviceoriented government not only brought profound changes in government administrative system,but also affected the state-society relations and the development of social organizations.The fiscal system reform,especially the tax system reform,resulted in the specialization of the financial funds,further lead to the establishment of "project governance" system,and the relationship between central government and local government was reconstructed.When this model copied to the grassroots society,the project has become one of the most important way for government to achieve governance.This institutional background has spawned a large number of social organizations whose main work is undertaking and completing the governments' projects.Based on their background and characteristics,this study defines these social organizations as "induced social organizations" to distinguish them from "spontaneous social organizations" with more obvious grassroots attributes.Through project-based government purchases,Chinese government achieved both goals of grassroots governance and social organization cultivation.This study selects three typical induced social organizations to conduct in-depth interviews,analyzing the role of project-based government purchases in the generation and growth process of induced social organizations,further reflect on the current relationship between state and society.The study found that the project-based government purchase plays a decisive role in the formation of induced social organizations,while government's absorption and control have a profound impact on the development of induced social organizations.For some social organizations with independence and autonomy,the government integrates them into the system by means of organizational intervention,so that the elites of these social organizations are eventually serve the government system;and for others,the government will establish some interest relations with them,making them dependent and also work for the government system.Under government's absorption and control,social organizations have either become part of the government system or subsisted on the Chinese government,which both means that they lost their autonomy as social organizations.As a result,induced social organizations have become tools for grassroots government to realize community governance,while facing difficulties in realizing their own growth.At the present,merely quantitative growth of induced social organizations does not mean the development of social organizations and civil society in the country.Instead,it reveals an "involution" dilemma for social organizations,which means,no growth.