As austerity measures continue, accompanied by ongoing cuts in government services, the importance of community groups to social welfare and well-being becomes ever greater. This book offers a wide range of perspectives on the role and nature of those groups, specifically those that are operating outside the formal voluntary sector in the United Kingdom. These groups, which are unregulated, need more rigorous analysis than in the past as their role and scope continue to increase; this book represents a major step towards better understanding of how they work and what they do.

Collates knowledge and examines the role and nature of community groups and activities operating outside of the formal voluntary sector in the UK to develop a coherent understanding about these so-called "below the radar" organisations.