| CODE | YTH1025 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Understanding NGOs and the Voluntary Sector | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Youth, Community and Migration Studies | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will present why people engage with NGOs and the Voluntary Sector in Malta. In this study-unit we will be looking into how these important institutional structures advocate the value of volunteering, on how raising the profile of volunteering and volunteering opportunities will guarantee improved and inclusive communities and how activism and social engagement are at the heart of a democratic society. This study-unit will further introduce students to a framework for policy advocacy within a political and economic context. It will identify a number of tasks and skills related to policy advocacy and social marketing that students would be able to apply in various settings in human service organisations. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims to assist course participants to analyse why people engage in NGOs and what their expectations are when it comes to participation and active social engagement, especially when engaging with political strategy. It also aims to sharpen participants' understanding of how the organisational factors in NGOs are entrenched in conceptions of the social world. The study unit aims to facilitate and encourage course participants to develop an understanding of international and national trends in volunteering. Finally, it aims to strengthen understanding of how to identify specific problems and issues in which voluntary organisations can make a difference and how to get them placed on the agenda of decision makers. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain the different forms of NGO structure and their respective strengths and weaknesses; - Demonstrate an understanding of the roles played by different NGOs in contemporary society, varying from participation to activism; - Analyse international and national trends on how volunteering organisations operate and are organised; - Articulate an ethical rationale for becoming a policy advocate from a social justice perspective; - Identify different styles of policy advocacy; - Identify a range of activities that can be used in policy advocacy work; - Develop, implement and evaluate social marketing campaigns. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically analyse and discuss the impact of various types of NGO on social inclusion and social cohesion; - Demonstrate that they are able to apply skills related to quality standards in the voluntary sector; - Critically assess the structure and organisation of an NGO; - Present an analytical and political rationale for policy advocacy; - Network via the web to obtain information from specific advocacy groups; - Reflect on case studies from social marketing campaigns; - Develop flowcharts to enhance policy analysis; - Engage in debates on affirmative and negative positioning in an argument; - Use hardball and win-win options in negotiations; - Write a strategy for a policy advocacy or social marketing campaign. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main readings: Pack will be provided by the lecturer. Supplementary readings: - Grobman, Gary (2018). Introduction to the nonprofit sector (5th ed.). US, White Hat Communications. - HBR's 10 Must Reads on Nonprofits and the Social Sectors (2019) - Hessenius, B. (2007). Hardball Lobbying for Nonprofits: Real Advocacy for Nonprofits in the New Century. UK, Palgrave Macmillan. - Lee, Nancy & Kotler, Philip (2019). Social Marketing: Behavior Change for Social Good (6th Ed.) (International Students Edition). US, Sage. - Milbourne, Linda (2013). Voluntary sector in transition: hard times or new opportunities? UK, Policy Press. - Osborne, Stephen (2008). The third sector in Europe. UK, Taylor & Francis. - Ott, J.S. & Dick, L. (2015). The nature of the non-profit sector (3rd ed.) US, Westview Press. - Powell, Jason (2012). Understanding the voluntary sector: critical success factors. US, Nova Science Publishers. - Powell, Walter & Bromley, Patricia (2006). Third sector research (2nd ed.) US, Stanford University Press. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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