Where did we come from? The emergence and early development of voluntary sector studies in the UK

This article considers how the field of voluntary sector studies (VSS) in the UK emerged. Drawing on published and unpublished documents as well as on semi-structured interviews with people involved in the early development of VSS, a timeline of key events is suggested. The analysis reveals both social and cognitive elements in the field's development and considers the broader policy and institutional context within which key events of the VSS field occurred.