This chapter takes a specific realm of policy making in Israel – the third sector – to demonstrate the intricate relations and the ambivalence between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ in policy analysis processes in Israel. It examines the third sector as both a target of and a participant in policy analysis processes.

The third sector in Israel was shown in international studies to be one the largest in the world within its national context (Salamon et al, 1999). Moreover, it plays a pivotal role in various policy realms as a participant in both policy making and implementation. Yet, policy analysis and formal policy making have until recently ignored this important collective actor (Galnoor et al, 2003). This situation began to change since the late 1990s. The change was initiated by Academia and the third sector itself, and was only partially adopted by government. In fact, Israeli governments have been reluctant to seriously look into the third sector for various reasons, political and financial (Bar and Gidron, 2010). Consequently, the change process began outside of government, with the formulation of an international study, a national database and a policy analysis committee. The result was an ongoing process in which different actors, including various government ministries (Finance, Justice and Welfare), third sector actors, academics and major philanthropic foundations attempt to influence the framing and interpretation of the data that was produced and policies and concepts that were developed. This process reflects an ambivalent relationship between governmental and nongovernmental policy actors and the mixed and inter-sectoral arrangements characteristic of policy analysis in Israel.

There are two parts to this chapter. The first part will discuss briefly the role of third sector actors such as advocacy groups, human service providers and think tanks, in policy analysis in general and in Israel in particular. The second part will focus on public policy towards the third sector as a specific realm of policy making in Israel, and analyse the actors engaged in policy analysis and relationships between them within the broader context of the Israeli polity and the conceptual framework of the book.

Third sector organisations and policy analysis

Various national and global processes have enhanced the legitimacy of third sector organisations in public discourse in general, and in social policy in particular.