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Building a Brighter NFP Future through Education, Paul Flatau
Professor Paul Flatau commenced as Chair in Social Investment and Impact and Director of the UWA Business School Centre for Social Impact (CSI) at the UWA Business School in December 2010. The UWA Business School Centre for Social Impact is part of a national initiative under the CSI banner with affiliate centres at the University of New South Wales, Melbourne University and Swinburne University.
Recently Professor Flatau has led The Learning for Purpose: Social Return of Education and Training study on the role of professional development in the NFP sector. The report outlined that only 46% of Governance Board Directors had exposure to professional development in 2014.
A lack of investment in professional development opportunities for employees means the Not for Profit sector is not having as great an impact as it could, according to a new major report.
Researchers from The University of Western Australia Business School’s Centre for Social Impact (UWA CSI) investigated the role of training and development in enhancing the capacity of NFP organisations to create social change.
According to the research, despite an acknowledged value of around $58 billion and the involvement of 4.6 million volunteers contributing $15 billion worth of wage equivalent value, the sector is constrained by limited resources.
The researchers said that because those working in the Not for Profit sector often put the immediate needs of those they serve first, investment in professional development and training, which is a given in the for-profit sector, “is seen as an overhead not an investment”.
Findings from the research indicate targeted training of those working in the Australian Not for Profit sector results in organisations becoming more effective as a result of enhanced staff capacity. Despite this, it is estimated only 58 per cent of Not for Profit sector employees undertook professional development this year. See more at: http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2014/12/nfp-employee-invest…
In the video below, Professor Flatau shares the latest research with us and talks about the greater need for professional development in the Not for Profit sector..
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