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 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 SECTORPUBLIC SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR GENERATES LEARNING STIMULATES LEARNING, GIVES VALUE AND REGULATES DIFFERENT PROGRAMS GIVES VALUE TO THE LEARNING ACQUIRED SOCIETY

Current situation WeaknessesStrenghts ThreatsOpportunities - 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