In Ireland, for various reasons, many responses to social issues, have been delivered through community and voluntary sector organisations.
The community and voluntary sector is a major contributor to the economy and is bound by). Volunteer trustees through their role as governors of not for profit organisations are responsible for the compliance of the organisation with all statute and common law and specifically The Charities' Act (2009).
The focus of the research is on ensuring how the expectations placed upon volunteers who take on the trustee role are addressed by community and voluntary sector organisations, whether the trustees' function is seen as contributing to the development of the organisation and the service it provides, or whether it is seen as a necessary evil, a chore that must be undertaken before the real business of the organisation can be attended to. The research focuses on the role of volunteer non-experts in fulfilling their trustee role, studies the difficulties and challenges which are faced by trustees within voluntary organisations and how these difficulties are addressed.