William Beveridge's report 'Voluntary action: a report on methods of social advance' was published in October 1948. ... In assessing the impact of Beveridge's 'Voluntary action' over the last sixty years, this book also provides a reminder that the terms 'voluntary action' and 'voluntary sector' are both fluid and contestable. In this book we use Beveridge's own definition of voluntary action as outlined in his 1948 report, as encompassing mutual aid, self-help and philanthropy. ... As the individual chapters demonstrate, the ideas that William Beveridge developed in his 'Voluntary action' in the late 1940s have regained currency in recent times. What he had to say then has proved to be still relevant to us today, in an era which has seen increased co-operation and formal partnerships or 'compacts', but also widely expressed concerns about the basis of relations between third-sector organisations and the state.