1 Digital Possibilities and Social Mission in the Voluntary Sector: The Case of a 1 Community Transport Organisation in the UK 2 3 Authors: Walker, Tim; Esmene, Shukru; Colebrooke, Laura; Leyshon, Catherine; Leyshon, Michael 1 4 Source: Voluntary Sector Review 5 Publisher: Policy Press 6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/204080520X15787076882640 7 8 1 Centre for Geography and Environmental Science; University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus 9 10 Abstract: 11 Digital technology is seen as a panacea to meeting the financial and operational challenges faced by 12 Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations (VCSOs), through delivering efficiencies and cost- 13 saving, alongside improving quality of service. However, according to recent assessments in the UK, 14 the rate of digital adoption is slow compared to other sectors. This study identifies how a VCSO in a 15 period of austerity prioritises its social mission over functionality and efficiency gains from digital 16 technology. Employing the heuristic of phronesis, we argue that VCSOs seeking to implement digital 17 innovations need to strike a balance between instrumental rationality (i.e. what is possible to 18 achieve with technology) and value rationality (i.e. what is desirable to pursue by VCSOs). Our key 19 argument is that theories of value rationality provide a new explanation for the slow adoption of 20 digital technology amongst VCSOs. 21 22 Key words: 23 Community Transport, Digital Innovation, Phronesis 24 25 26 Introduction 27 This paper examines critically the challenges faced by Voluntary and Community Sector 28 Organisations (VCSOs) adopting digital technologies to manage rising demand and 29 increasing efficiency whilst maintaining their social mission. The global financial crisis of 30 2008/9 precipitated in many western economies the introduction of austerity measures 31