Rough guide to the impact of the crisis on the third sector in Europe

This article is a revised and updated version of an earlier publication2. It begins by looking at the issue of the definition of the third sector arguing in favour of a coming together of the concepts of civil society and social economy - what they share as core values outweighing their differences. The article goes on to give an impressionistic assessment of the effects of the crisis on the third sector overall. The next part takes a different perspective, looking at the impact of the crisis from the viewpoint of the individual organisation and the range of possible strategies from going it alone to merger. Finally, in the conclusion 10 recommendations are put forward for giving the third sector more visibility.