The workshop on Third Sector Studies at University and College Level: Theory and Practice held on October 27, 2001 in Budapest, was a genuine success. It was organized as part of the program run by the Third Sector Studies Network. The cooperation with Charities Aid Foundation  (State/Civil Society links project) and the International Center for Not for Profit Law- Budapest proved effective: both organizations assisted to the workshop by providing in-kind support and logistical help. The Central European University kindly offered a conference room for the meeting.

Workshop participants included core members of the Third Sector Studies Network and academicians from Poland, Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. They were representing primarily universities and foundations running educational programs: Serbian, Byelorussian, Romanian and Ukrainian applicants missed the meeting because of lack of funds, despite the considerable interest they had demonstrated towards attending the workshop.

Altogether 30 participants joined our meeting contributing actively to its discussions.

The workshop focused on three main themes organized in three panel discussions that comprehensively covered all issues relevant to university and college studies of the NGO sector. During the discussions, several major problems and concerns of this section of academic teaching  were expressed:

1. Accreditation and recognition:  Comprehensive curriculum development took place in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Poland. In general these programs give a certificate (names, qualifications, recognition, and value differ from country to country due to differences in the educational system). Though state accreditation is still very important, many participants highlighted the importance of the market in the final assessment of the programs. It became obvious the number of curriculum development programs will increase over the following years.

2. Institutional involvement: the process of developing a course on Third Sector studies normally includes setting up of Advisory boards, curriculum development forums, and other forms of support groups. These groups generally included university people, experts, and representatives of NGOs and representatives of public administration. These groups conduct an estimate of needs and criteria that the curricula should meet, provide continuous support to the teaching process, and disseminate feedback and results of the teaching programs. Curriculum development is then an inter-institutional process.

3. Inter-university cooperation: Such cooperation is undoubtedly needed between universities. There is still a lack of qualified teachers in this (still new for the region) subject, as well as of teaching materials, particularly in local languages. University cooperation can resolve some of these problems by facilitating the exchange of teaching materials, translations, exchange of experience, discussions of common problems, and exchange academic visits.

4. Resource center: Participants pointed out the need for the establishment of a mobile knowledge-resource center that would contain a database of contact information for qualified teachers and will serve as an information resource center.

5. Relevance to practice: - Programs are generally linked to already existing scientific fields: social policy, public policy, sociology, human sciences, culture, advocacy where NGOs already play an important role. Moreover, several complementary courses were launched to provide the NGO sector with specific knowledge in particular issues (for example, NGO legal clinics thorough the region have proved to be extremely helpful both to students and to the NGOs-clients).

There is no clear cut vision if curricula should be practice or theory oriented. Teachers acknowledge the enormous importance of practice in addition to theory. Students’ interest and preferences also indicate that curricula should increase the practical elements in them.  Some believe that theoretical background ought not be completely newly written and should be reconstructed, others argued for further developing the philosophy underlying non-profit activities.

6. Feedback:  Teachers believe that they prepare students for the future, as everybody expects the third sector to grow: both in quantity and in quality. As a consequence evaluating surveys are rare and incomprehensive. The one presented at the workshop showed interest in the field, but also depicted a serious lack of knowledge about the sector.

7. Networking: There was a clear interest in continuing and strengthening our network to meet the above listed needs. Primary goals are: establishing a reference network on Third Sector Studies in the region, and to come out with a journal next year. Mall suggested holding a meeting in Tallinn with the help of the East-East program. Members also explore opportunities to strengthen links with Western European institutions.

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Miklos Kralik