Third Sector Project of the Institute for Policy Studies


The Third Sector Project of the Institute for Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University, begun by Dr. Lester A. Salamon in July 1991, has trained over 400 leaders from Central and Eastern Europe in "the nuts and bolts of what it takes to form, organize and sustain a nonprofit organization."

It has done this through two activities:

(1) The Project organizes six-week internships with U.S. non-profit organizations supplemented by training workshops held at IPS. Interns are selected by partner organizations in the region and represent a variety of organizations in health and human services, environmental protection, and human rights--including preservation of cultural and religious rights. Interns have come from six nations in Eastern Europe plus Russia and Ukraine.

(2) Through in-country workshops conducted over five days and based on participatory training methods, the Project has trained 60-70 leaders at a time. Workshops have been held in the Czech Republic, Russia, Hungary and Poland, and are scheduled for Bulgaria, Slovenia and possibly Ukraine in 1993-94. Workshop participants receive practical training manuals translated into their own language, and develop skills and perspectives on common problems together with other members of their nation's third sector.

Demand for both internships and workshops has been great and continues to grow. To meet this demand, the Third Sector Project recently launched a "training-of-trainers" program. The goal is to work with approximately 40 individuals from six countries, including Russia, on a two-year program that will include a series of in-country training "institutes," followed by observation and supervised practice. Local partner institutions will provide a base for the trainers and be responsible for coordinating the program in the region. To generate and support local training opportunities and develop training materials, partner institutions will receive mini-grants from IPS. In addition, these grants will help to create nonprofit management libraries in each country.

For further information, contact:

Nicole Etchart, Program Manager
Third Sector Project, IPS
The Johns Hopkins University
Shriver Hall, Baltimore, MD 21218
Tel. (410) 516-5389
Fax (410) 516-8233.
E-mail: [email protected]

This article is from the July/August 1993 issue of
Civil Society ... East and West

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The URL for this page is: http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/~ccsi/csew/93-07/thirdsctr.html
Last updated: May 1993

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