Developing Civil Society Education via Case Studies: A North American Perspective

The Developing Civil Society via Case Studies (DCSCS) program offers students an opportunity to study abroad in Canada, Mexico or the U.S. and to receive academic credit for researching and developing management case studies of local civil society organizations.

The program includes academic theory, discussions of the cultural underpinnings of civil society and essential nonprofit management skills. Students are expected to work within small student teams and collaboratively with the leaders of local civil society organizations to examine and analyze a crisis or management challenge that the organization faces.

At the end of the program, consortium faculty members select the strongest cases for publication opportunities including submission to the Electronic Hallway, a preeminent source of teaching cases and curriculum at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs. Any case studies submitted for electronic or print publication follow a standard case format and recognize the faculty members, student researchers, and the respective government sponsors.

The Program Coordinator at your home institution can provide application materials, course information and assist with study abroad logistics.

Sponsorship

DCSCS receives funding under the auspices of the Program for North American Mobility in Higher Education cooperatively led by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States. The following public sponsors are committed to supporting the DCSCS Program through 2010:

• Human Resources and Skills Development in Canada,www.hrsdc.gc.ca
• Secretaria de Educacion Publica in Mexico, www.sep.gob.mx
• U.S. Department of Education: Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education,www.ed.gov/fipse