Modelling NPO–Government Relations: Australian case studies

Non-profit organizations (NPOs) are major providers of services in many fields of endeavour, and often receive financial support from government. This article investigates different forms of government/non-profit funding relationships, with the viewpoint being mainly, though not exclusively, from the perspective of the non-profit agencies. While there are a number of existing typologies of government/NPO relations, these are dated and in need of further empirical analysis and testing. The article advances an empirically derived extension to current models of government/NPO relations. A future research agenda is outlined based on the constructs that underpin typologies, rather than discrete categorization of relationships.