Thinking and experimenting new practices in non profit organisations and third places – REPAé

The research Rethinking and Experimenting with Practices in Emerging Associations - Third Places (REPAé) aims to identify practices and non profit organizations functioning that guarantee debate, decision-making and democratic human relations within emerging non profit organizations. It is part of a participatory research carried out in partnership between university and non profit organizations in education non profit organizations. The research team hypothesizes that other forms of practices are deployed particularly in third places, that have emerged these recent years, in connection with multi-non profit organizations, multi-activities halfway between places of living and working. The research aims to shed light, with the actors concerned, links between work and activist engagement experienced in these places, as well as the relationships of power and domination inherent in all collective life. The notion of use and collective experimentation that makes up the place will thus be questioned, as well as the intentions to do things differently with emancipatory tools and practices. The REPAé research provides for the implementation of a qualitative and participatory survey through observation and self-analysis of the non profit organizations practices in progress in these places. It aims to better understand a question shared within a collective made up of employees and volunteers from the non profit sector, by combining experiential and academic knowledge. It will then be a question of promoting, experimenting with and circulating forms of practice resulting from the investigation in third places within other associations and in university and professional training.