“Asociativismo”: An experience of community service and collective learning between nonprofit institutions and University proffesors

Abstract

The following paper shows an experience of community service whose aim was to strengthen the "Institutional Capacities" of several nonprofit institutions (NGOs) linked to the Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento (UNGS). In the last few decades, the argentine university system increased grants to work on projects with NGOs. As part of that process, university professors of the management field involved in organizational analysis began to study the organizational dynamics of NGOs. In this context, the project “Asociativismo” developed seven workshops about organizational experiences and knowledge (between august and december 2013). These workshops created a context for collective learning. On one hand, it gave tools to the NGOs to perform a self-diagnosis, while; on the other hand, we encouraged them to create links and interactions between organizations and professors. It was also the beginning of a knowledge transfer process in two ways -popular and academic knowledges-, by positioning the management in the university extension programs with other fields of knowledge.