This project explored the market for postgraduate studies in voluntary sector management, assess current provision and gaps, and identified how the needs could best be addressed. It also developed study modules to meet the sector’s needs and offered a Brighton and Hove pilot to the emerging Sussex-wide Lifelong Learning Network. Background

It is estimated that between 1400 and 1500 community and voluntary groups are active in Brighton and Hove and the sector workforce is both skilled and diverse. The Working Together Project however identified concerns about professional development opportunities for sector workers, particularly in postgraduate-level management skills.

Project Outline

Brighton University, through its Schools of Applied Social Science, Business and Education, was well placed to develop learning opportunities for the sector. The School of Applied Social Science’s MA in Public Sector Partnership and Management, for example, could be developed to provide management education for the voluntary and community sector.

This project, a partnership between the university and the Working Together Project, was supported by a BSCKE grant. It explored the market for postgraduate studies in voluntary sector management, assessed current provision and gaps, and identified how, using current provision within the sector and by the University of Brighton, the needs can best be addressed. It also developed study modules to meet the sector’s needs and offered a Brighton and Hove pilot to the emerging Sussex-wide Lifelong Learning Network.