040177 SE NPO-Management Practical Experience (2023W)

The course is aimed at bachelor students who would like to study non-profit organisations in general as well as the field of social work, conflict resolution and probation in particular.

The topics are wide-ranging and include economic fields (controlling, finance etc.) as well as issues such as social work, legal issues, project management, communication etc.

If you are a student of sociology or psychology, the topics can be adapted to your respective studies/interests.

Together with the association "NEUSTART - Bewährungshilfe, Konfliktregelung, Soziale Arbeit" (https://www.neustart.at/), the course will teach the subject area in a practical way. As one of the largest non-profit-organisations in the social economy in Austria, the organisation NEUSTART is concerned, on the one hand, with the re-socialisation of offenders and, on the other hand, offers specific assistance to victims (e.g. support and assistance during the trial or making amends).

The special feature of an NPO is that this enterprise (in the legal form of association, cooperative, foundation, etc.) operates economically between the state and the private sector. Despite the growing importance of NPOs and the steadily increasing number of employees (full-time and voluntary) in the non-profit sector, awareness of the specific management challenges is only slowly increasing. For example, in terms of business organisation, NPOs can only be compared to a profit-oriented company to a limited extent. In addition, NPOs can often be found in the health and social sector, which leads to a closer cooperation between this form of enterprise and state institutions. These circumstances also have an influence on the management, organisation and financing of NPOs.

In order to raise the students' awareness of these specifics, the course is divided into several parts, starting with a general theoretical introduction to the management of NPOs, followed by a practical part in which the participants conduct interviews on specific issues (e.g. organisation, financing, voluntary work, etc.) with the heads of the respective departments of NEUSTART. Subsequently, the results are presented in a (group) presentation and in a final written paper.

The aim of the course is to give students a theoretical overview of the organisation and management of NPOs, but at the same time to include a practical component through the cooperation with NEUSTART.

The seminar will take place in the lecture hall.