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Sector needs its own university, says acevo 2

Finance | Gareth Jones | 15 Apr 2008

A university of the third sector should be created to harness the talents of graduates considering the sector as a serious career option, according to acevo.

A spokeswoman for the chief executive body said there were currently no concrete plans for how the university would operate, with the details “open for development”.

“The vision is not of a building or a campus, but of a network which is connected across borders to educate and develop the civil society leaders of the future and add capacity to the sector through research.

“It is an idea which we will be urging political parties to include in their manifesto,” she said.

'Invaluable network of leaders'

Acevo chief executive Stephen Bubb said the sector’s increased profile was making it increasingly attractive to graduates, and that the alumni of the university would create “an invaluable network of leaders”.

Bubb was speaking at a debate yesterday on the merits of a civil society university held by Primetimers, a social enterprise which works to grow capacity within the sector through business-based solutions.

Arguing that a university was required to provide “in-depth and high-quality research into the role of the third sector” via research degrees, he said it was an idea whose time had come.

“We are a major resource for the country, no longer at the margins. We need to invest in building on what already exists through research and training.

“Gordon Brown talks about increasing and improving the talent pool in our country. A university for the third sector would make a direct contribution to this vision,” said Bubb.

Acevo is already building links with four universities – University of Heidelberg, Stockholm School of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and Trinity College, Dublin – which have launched the first European Programme in civil society leadership.

Euclid funded to provide Balkan training

Meanwhile, the European network of third sector leaders, Euclid, has announced it will receive funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to establish a training programme in the Balkans.

The eighteen-month programme will involve a series of masterclasses in Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro for sector capacity-builders.

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