LSE Events | Beveridge and Voluntary Action for the 21st Century

Few people know about William Beveridge’s third report, Voluntary Action. But for Beveridge private action for public purpose was an essential complement to the welfare state. As both state and market fail to resolve social problems, such action is experiencing resurgence and disruption. New institutions and organisations - impact investing, venture philanthropy and social enterprise – supplement or replace traditional nonprofit organisations and charities. But what is the role of private action for public good in the construction of the 21st century welfare state? How should the state, market and voluntary organisations work together? Does the welfare state even crowd out valuable voluntary action? Using Beveridge’s Voluntary Action as a springboard, LSE’s Marshall Institute brings together a distinguished panel of LSE staff and alumni to discuss these questions.

Jonathan Roberts is Teaching Director and Senior Lecturer in Practice at the Marshall Institute. He leads the development of teaching activities at the Institute, including a new executive MSc programme in Social Business and Entrepreneurship (from 2018) and a Marshall Institute specialism within LSE’s Master in Public Administration programme, the MPA in Social Impact.

Kawsar Zaman is a lawyer at Allen & Overy LLP and a Social Mobility Ambassador for the Law Society of England and Wales. Born and raised in East London, he was the first in his family to go to university, graduating with a first in law from LSE in 2012, before reading for the BCL at Oxford University and the LLM at Harvard Law School as a Fulbright Scholar. Kawsar is a Governor at Morpeth School in Bethnal Green and a Trustee of Toynbee Hall. He served as a commissioner for the Citizens Commission on Islam, Participation & Public Life, and in 2009 was a Global Fellow of the Prime Minister.

Julian Le Grand held the Richard Titmuss Chair of Social Policy in the Department of Social Policy and is now Professor in the Marshall Institute.

This event is organised by LSE’s Marshall Institute. The Institute’s mission is to maximise the impact of private action for public benefit through multidisciplinary teaching and research. The work of the Institute is the latest chapter in LSE’s history of intellectual leadership in this field.