This week at work, I learned about the non profit sector in Ireland. The sector has some norms across the globe because of the structure and goals of the entire industry. The thing I noticed most was that there really isn’t a lot of competition between non-profits. Concern Worldwide works alongside many other Dublin based NGOs as well as international NGOs. I asked my supervisor about this and she said it was because they are all working towards similar goals, and with such a large project at hand a small NGO isn’t able to accomplish much. But with an alliance of small companies you are better able to reach the goal.

This feature of the industry provides an important opportunity for smaller NGOs to have a real impact with the work they are doing. It also gives them the opportunity to share resources and knowledge about the areas they are working in. However, this point could also be detrimental to smaller NGOs because they could become irrelevant if they are not a part of the bigger alliance. Furthermore, this could lead to a lack of diversity within the sector and therefore weak brand names of the different non profits.

Personally, this has lead to a more positive work experience for me. I have found that due to this, the office is a more relaxed place, with not as much stress around. This has made people more friendly and social and overall I think that people are happier in a less competitive environment. I have gotten to know my coworkers and have been able to talk to them about things aside from work so I think that is a positive aspect of the non profit sector.