LAW40760

Learning Outcomes:

At the completion of this module: Students should have acquired knowledge and understanding of the key legal principles and rules involved in the law of charities and other civil society organisations in Ireland. This understanding will be reinforced by a clinical engagement with an Irish charity with students partnering with a registered Irish charity for the duration of the module. In particular,

• Students will have acquired knowledge and understanding of the key legal principles and rules involved in the law of charities and other civil society organisations in Ireland and actively demonstrated their application to their adopted charities in their clinical projects.
• Students should be able to critically compare and contrast different approaches to charity regulation in light of the comparator countries considered.
• Students should be able to make a clear and informative individual presentation to an audience of peers on aspects of charity law and to contribute actively to team activities.
• Students should be able to engage with contemporary legal and political debates about charities and other civil society organisations and be able to provide, orally and in writing, clear commentary and evaluation of the treatment of these issues in media sources.
• Students should feel confident in volunteering to serve on the boards of NGOs, charities and voluntary organisations or to better assist in their civil society networks post completion of the module.

Indicative Module Content:

Introduction to the framework of NGO regulation
Why Charity? Market, State and non-profit boundaries and relations
Defining Mission
Form or Substance: Choosing a legal vehicle to establish an NGO
The Statutory Regulation of Charities in Ireland
Funding Good Work: Who funds what and why?
Financial Accounting Regulation – Looking at the Books
Civic Space under threat: Rights, regression and repression
Governance and Fiduciary Duties – The Stakeholder Debate

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

This module adopts a number of approaches to teaching and learning to reflect the variation of student learning styles and in order to deepen postgraduate learning in a clinical seminar setting. Students work in teams with an adopted charity for their field work experience to prepare a governance review report to present to the charity. Students work individually in the preparation and submission of weekly summaries of key articles tied to one of the core areas of the module. Students benefit from continuous assessment in their ongoing submission of 'Show & Tell' media pieces and personal reflections, which are shared with all students and thus aid peer learning. Assessment of Show & Tell is a combination of both student peer feedback and module coordinator feedback. Students also benefit from group learning in their clinical project with their adopted charity.

Students on this module are expected to have read and understood the UCD Academic Integrity Policy and the School Protocol on Academic Integrity. Students must ensure that they comply with all requirements laid down therein and avoid academic misconduct. Students are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence, or other machine learning technology, in their learning and in completing assessments on this module. Students are expected to follow Oscola Ireland in citing sources in completing assessments.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.

Module Requisites and Incompatibles

Incompatibles:
POL41680 - NGOs: Law, Governance & Social


 

Assessment Strategy

 

Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students 'Show and Tell' posts via Feedback Fruits receive peer feedback. Module Coordinator offers moderated feedback which is shared on a class wide basis so that all learn from the experiences of the individual where additional issues arise. Feedback is given to adopted charity teams throughout the semester as they engage with their adopted charity. This feedback takes place both in class and as part of weekly consultation hours made available to students to discuss issues arising and following the Week 8 Report Draft Review. Individual feedback is provided on the charity reports at the end of the examination period to allow students to correct legal inaccuracies or to follow up on important issues and to revise their reports accordingly prior to sharing them with their adopted charities. Students may seek individual feedback by arranging an appointment with the module coordinator post examination results release.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.