Perceived Value of Specialist Equity and Justice Focused Infrastructure Organisations in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Equity and justice infrastructure organisations (EJIOs) provide specialist infrastructure support to equity and justice sector organisations (EJOs). Some literature on infrastructure organisations discusses their role in the third sector. However, little is known about this specialist sub-set of infrastructure organisations—EJIOs—which might be a crucial piece in the puzzle of creating a stronger ecosystem for equalities groups and movements to thrive. This study offers the first analysis of civil society stakeholders and their perception of the value of EJIOs in the United Kingdom. Drawing on 42 stakeholder interviews with grantmakers, infrastructure organisations and local government bodies and two sector-wide surveys for EJIOs and EJOs (n = 54 and n = 52, respectively), we capture key value-adds as self-reported by EJIOs and by their funders and beneficiaries. This paper adds to a growing body of literature on infrastructure organisations and civil society capacity building, which has real-life implications for funders.