Better or just different? – looking for the added value in nonprofit welfare services

The purpose of this article is to examine the idea that nonprofit organisations (NPOs) provide publicly funded welfare services with added value that sets them apart from service providers in the public and for-profit sectors. The idea that nonprofit welfare services have added value has motivated public policies that actively support NPOs in public service provision, in the Nordic countries and around the world. This is done in spite of the fact that there is relatively little support for it in empirical research. This article will address the question of whether the NPOs bring such added value, and if so, what it is and if it can be promoted by a politically motivated upscaling of services. The article is based on a review of direct comparisons between services provided by NPOs and services provided by public or for-profit organisations, with special attention to Swedish and Nordic research. The findings suggest that there is added value by nonprofit welfare services, but that some of it is likely lost when the NPOs are brought into the mainstream of welfare service provision.