To generate a comprehensive understanding of a sector or a specific industry and subsequently engage in planning activities, appropriate foundational analysis work is required. Sector and industry analyses, along with social planning, serve to capture and analyze the sector or industry based on various metrics, as well as to forecast future needs and derive actionable recommendations. Based on the insights gained from this analysis, evidence-based design of the sector or industry can be undertaken, supporting the social planning of the federal states.

The nonprofit sector has gained increased attention in research in Austria and internationally since the 1990s. Within the framework of the Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project at Johns Hopkins University, many countries have begun to assess the size of the sector across different subfields/industries. Key metrics such as the number of organizations, the number of paid and volunteer employees, and the level of revenues and expenditures in NPOs have been essential indicators through which researchers have attempted to capture the significance of the sector. Today, a stated goal is to create separate satellite accounts for nonprofit organizations within the framework of national economic accounting. This can help quantify the monetary scope or employment volume of the sector and make its significance visible.

Comprehensive guidelines have already been developed for this purpose. In some countries (e.g., Australia, Canada), this is already being implemented. In Austria, negotiations are ongoing with the relevant ministries regarding this matter.

Selected Examples:

Data and Facts about the Nonprofit Sector

Handbook of Nonprofit Organizations: Structures and Management (2013)

ArtWorks: Artistic Services in the Third Sector – Current Situation: Third Sector in Austria (2003)

In addition to the nonprofit sector as a whole, our studies also address other (sub)sectors, such as the social sector. This sector is not limited to NPOs but also includes service providers from the public sector and for-profit companies.

Sector analyses often serve as the starting point for further activities, as demonstrated in the INDEED project for the dementia-related health sector in participating countries. The sector analysis aimed to capture the respective starting situation and reveal region-specific differences with the goal of utilizing existing potentials and improving dementia care.

Selected Examples:

Evaluation of the services ("products") and associated expenditures of the social department of Upper AustriaInterreg Danube Transnational Programme: Innovation for Dementia in the Danube Region (INDEED)

Assessment of the number of people with physical and sensory disabilities in Lower Austria and their support needs

Needs assessment for facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities in Lower Austria

Needs assessment for the number of people with disabilities in Burgenland