Mergers are certainly in the air. No longer the preserve of the private sector, they have become a standard consideration within the voluntary and community sector (VCS) as organisations develop or expand or contract. To some organisations they represent a positive move towards a stronger future, combining resources within a natural operational fit. For others, mergers are more threatening and represent a challenge to identity, flexibility and autonomy. They take many different forms and happen in response to a diverse range of triggers and drivers, some from within an organisation and some through external forces.
Merger is not the solution in all cases: indeed there are concerns that agencies may be under pressure to move towards merger before other organisational or collaborative options have been fully explored. The London Housing Foundation has become aware that there is a gap in information to trustees and chief executives who are thinking about mergers or wanting to know more about them.
The Foundation commissioned Alan Cripps, of Neadon Consulting, and Mary Carter, to carry out a literature review of available relevant material.
Their work forms the basis of a report entitled "Merger: A Brief Guide to the Literature for Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations'. The report can be downloaded free of charge below.
The report is not an exhaustive account but aims to cover the key texts in a way that signposts VCS agencies and those in the homelessness sector in particular, to those resources likely to be most helpful at different stages of the merge process.
There is no single guide that covers all the stages and elements of merger and that could be simply recommended as the ‘standard’ text. The report is therefore structured in two sections: the first provides a detailed exploration of key publications and a brief overview of useful but less relevant pieces; the second uses the key elements of the merge process and signposts to the combination of reports most likely to provide a complete range of advice and information. The appendices contain an extended bibliography of available sources, with links or contact details.
We have provided links to the key documents referenced in the report, in alphabetical order on this page.
The literature review was compiled from a total of 60 publications (see Appendix 1 of the report). These include readily available examples of advice and guidance from institutions and research units within the VCS, articles from academic journals, trade/business journals and publications that are out of print. Only those that are relevant and accessible are explained in depth.
There has been a great deal written about private sector mergers but literature based on VCS examples, experiences and environments is considerably thinner on the ground.
The extent to which corporate sector experiences can be used to inform VCS mergers is debateable: as several publications point out, there are a number of substantial differences and while there are many valuable lessons which can be drawn from one sector for the benefit of the other, there is no automatic read-across, and a process of translation would be needed to avoid misleading conclusions being drawn. In general, therefore, corporate sector information is not included. However, a number of the publications make references to articles and books dealing with corporate sector mergers and, where this is the case, these sources have also been included at Appendix 1.
For quick reference, see the essential merger starter kit, on the right hand column of this page and an addtional list of other available resources.
Download the guide - Merger: A Brief Guide to the Literature for Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations
Download: Merger: A Brief Guide to the Literature for Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations
by Alan Cripps and Mary Carter - a report for the London Housing Foundation, December 2006.
Alan Cripps and Mary Carter recommend the following sources as the essential components of a merger 'starter kit'. A fuller menu of merger resources is set out and reviewed in the guide.
