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In the run-up to the 11th International Conference, the second ISTR’s PhD seminar brought together 46 students from 22 countries at the political science department in Muenster from Sunday July 20th to 22nd . Established two years ago in Siena, the seminar aims to provide doctoral students from the broad variety of third sector research with the opportunity to receive extensive intellectual and methodological advice on their doctoral research, to introduce them to main theories and developments in the field, to reflect upon publication and career strategies, and to provide a unique opportunity to network with junior and senior scholars within the international ISTR research community. For this purpose, ISTR successfully recruited a faculty team of twelve experienced researches from different disciplines all involved in PhD education programs at their home institutions: Anna Domaradzka (Poland), Kari Steen-Johnsen (Norway), Ronelle Burger (South Africa), Ruth Phillips (Australia), Maria Radyati (Indonesia), Gabriel Berger (Argentina), Greg Witkowski (USA), Johan Hvenmark (Sweden), Naoto Yamauchi (Japan) and Matthias Freise (Germany) who also served as the local organizer of the PhD seminar. The faculty was completed by ISTR president, Wendy Earles (Australia). 

The seminar was sponsored by ISTR which covered the accommodation of the participants and the faculty. Furthermore, the Society was able to dedicate US $10,000 for travel grants and covered two evening events. The seminar started with a welcome event on Sunday, July 20th which was followed by a dinner in a restaurant at the lakeside in Muenster. The main program started the next morning. The students were divided into six thematically related working groups of six or seven participants. Each group was supervised by two members of the faculty. The three working group sessions on Monday and Tuesday morning formed the heart of the PhD Seminar. Every student had the possibility to present his PhD project and discuss key questions and theoretical and methodological issues on a peer basis with the other group members and with the faculty. 

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ISTR held its Inaugural PhD Seminar immediately prior to the 2012 conference in Siena. The seminar is part of the Society’s mission to build the field of third sector research and focused on providing extensive intellectual and methodological advice on the participants’ doctoral research, introducing students to the main theories and recent developments in the field, guiding reflection upon publication and career strategies, and providing a unique opportunity to network with junior and senior scholars within the international research community. 

A PhD Task Force with 7 postdocs and junior Faculty from across all regions was installed to organize the Seminar, and a call for participation was launched in September 2011. The interest in the first Seminar was overwhelming: we received 81 applications from 29 countries, and had to decline a dozen more after the deadline. Based on a double peer review process, the 50 best-reviewed applicants were invited to the Seminar. A broad and inclusive group of 45 students from 21 countries eventually participated in the Seminar. Participants had to become members of ISTR and register to attend the general conference as well. Participants were covered by ISTR for two nights of accommodation as well as coffee breaks and meals during the Seminar. 

The seminar consisted of both plenary sessions and parallel group sessions in which the participants had the opportunity to present and discuss their doctoral research with peers, junior and senior faculty. Participants were grouped thematically, but the groups’ composition was heterogeneous in terms of concrete research topics, disciplinary background, research stage, method, and regional affiliation. The group sessions were structured in an egalitarian and informal style, assigning about 50 minutes to each student. Eleven faculty (from Australia, Belgium, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Sweden, and the USA) were critical to providing guidance and focus for the discussions. Professor Steven Rathgeb Smith enhanced the program with his keynote address, “Government, Markets and the Third Sector.” More practical workshops focused on publishing and writing, career strategies and the tension between fundamental and applied research.

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