Fifteen years ago, after the 2008 global financial crisis, Spain’s social sector suddenly found itself in a perfect storm: far fewer public and private resources and many more needs to address. This could have fractured a social fabric that in Spain was not as mature as that of other neighboring countries, yet the opposite happened: today it is stronger, more cohesive and more sustainable than fifteen years ago.
The third sector of social action now employs 600,000 people, 15% more than then, and carries out 11% more direct actions per year; Its own income has grown from 15% to 30%, it depends on the public sector 12% less and the number of volunteers has doubled to 1.5 million – more than four million if we consider the entire third sector. It was also an anti-cyclical sector: between 2008 and 2013 its relative weight on employment grew by 50% and on GDP it went from 1.2 to 1.6%. Now these two indicators, after a period of economic growth, have returned to their 2008 values.
How was this evolution possible? Our experience alongside the over 450 Solidarity Talent organisations, the program we launched by the Botín Foundation 15 years ago precisely to contribute to the strengthening of our social sector, shows us that the three most decisive factors were innovation, collaboration and efficiency.
Innovation in objectives, adapted to new social realities, and above all in ways of acting, seeking new strategies and tools to better respond to the needs of beneficiaries; an activity that has been particularly successful when carried out in collaboration with others. Something which, in line with the now consolidated idea that “collaboration is the new innovation”, brings us to the second factor.
Twenty years ago social entities barely collaborated with each other, and they didn’t even have the legal tools to do so; what they did, paradoxically, was for-profit companies competing with each other. Today, the culture of collaboration is so rooted in everyday life, both between NGOs themselves and with businesses and public administrations, and is so intense and profound, that we could even begin to question the usefulness of the “sectors” scheme – public, private and social – to describe an increasingly hybrid reality, in which the limits are blurred and what matters is the final impact. And so, the first two factors, innovation and collaboration, ultimately lead to the third, efficiency.
It is already known that hunger sharpens the ingenuity. Well, sometimes out of necessity, and always out of conviction, in recent years the sector has achieved a commendable level of professionalization and efficiency. We can say this because today we can precisely measure the social impact of what we do, evaluate the results and optimize every euro invested. Evaluation and accountability, something that fifteen years ago was almost anecdotal, is now a structural part of managing social sector institutions: knowing when a project is working, when it should be refocused or even closed, and where it is advisable to invest more or less. And why is it important for Spain to have a strong social sector? Because the over 28,000 organizations that compose it perform an essential function, which neither the State nor private companies can fully assume: accompanying and integrating those who are excluded from economic and social progress. But also, and in a very special way, because the third sector can and must play a decisive role in a moment of growing polarization, helping to rebuild social cohesion and creating meeting spaces. This reconstruction work will, of course, have to be collective, but due to their specific characteristics – by definition, they are driven only by philanthropy and seek only the common good – foundations and NGOs are particularly willing to build bridges and play a leading role in this process.
To make this possible, third sector institutions must continue to work in the long term, innovating, collaborating and improving the efficiency of their social action, so as not to lose sight of those who give them meaning, their beneficiaries. And also, by communicating and explaining clearly how they contribute, with their activity, to the general prosperity of our country, thus guaranteeing the trust of the rest of the sectors and citizens in general, to continue moving forward together.
