THE THIRD SECTOR AS A SCHOOL OF SKILLS AND

CITIZENSHIP

Pau Vidal

Observatorio del Tercer Sector

Observatorio del Tercer sector

Our mission OTS is an independent non-profit research center specialized on the third sector. Its aim is to increase the knowledge of the sector and to work for the improvement of non-profit organization’s management.

• About

• From

• Together with

• Knowledge

• Reflection

• Improvement

third sector

third sector

Our values Social change Involvement Independence Quality Learning Confidence Transparency

Introduction

• Education and skills are essential to achieve social recognition

• Education is a synergycal process, where a complex combination

of the whole experiences lived by the individual are involved

• However, nonformal education still remains undervalued by the

society and by the public and private sectors.

Why is the learning acquired in the third sector worthy?

• It is based on practical experiences

• It builds a common and shared learning

• It stimulates a critical attitude towards the social environment

• It develops skills in specific situations

Competences and skills acquired

• Socialisation and relational skills

• Management skills

• Working in team

• Participation and commitment

• Values

• Communication skills

• Third sector asks for a greater recognition of the learning acquired in

their organizations

• Public sector show some interest on the training in the third sector but

without formalising it

• Private commercial sector valorises the skills, but it doesn’t establish a

link to the learning acquired in the third sector

Social agents involved

THIRD SECTOR PUBLIC SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR

GENERATES LEARNING

STIMULATES LEARNING,GIVES VALUE AND

REGULATES DIFFERENT PROGRAMS

GIVES VALUE TO THE LEARNING ACQUIRED

SOCIETY

Current situation

Weaknesses

Strenghts

Threats

Opportunities

- Lack of systematisation in the learning management and impact

- Weak communication

- Nonexistence of evaluation indicators of the learning acquired

- Know how

- Networking inside the third sector

- Participation as a key element

- Team working

- Sociopolitical unselfishness for social participation

- Perpetuation of the image of the traditional formal education

- Increasing of the valorization of the skills

- Take profit of the organizational specialization

Possible future situations

Situation A

Organisations are not socially recognised as training institutions

and they have a claiming image

Situation B

Profile assessment of individuals depends on their whole

experience, taking into account different groups of experiences

Situation C

Nonformal education is officially recognised

Situation D

Recognition of nonformal education is regulated by external

evaluation mechanisms

Recommandations ● Identification of the specific

learning

● Planning and management

● Awareness-raising

● Stimulate engagement

● Networking

● Communication planning

● Determine the key agents

● Networking with public sector

● Actions with the commercial sector

● Stimulate the communication trough

the participants

● Search for tangible actions

● Evaluate goals according to the

objectives

● Respect the spaces of

participation

● Promote recognition policies

A. Improvement of the internal management

of the training

B. Communication and relationship with other

agents

C. Impact evaluation

THE THIRD SECTOR AS A SCHOOL OF SKILLS AND

CITIZENSHIP

Pau Vidal

Observatorio del Tercer Sector