Problems of development of the third sector of the Volga region: the need for strategic planning

The paper focuses on strategic planning of non-profit organizations in changing environment. Particular attention is paid to analyzing the specifics of the situation of young NPOs and their attitude to strategic planning. It is concluded that for successful functioning of the non-profit sector it is especially important to consider the problem field of NPO development and adaptation of organizations' development strategies to changes. Volga Region NPOs today have sufficient experience and maturity to realize the need to develop new strategies for their activities in the changing environment. Moreover, the conclusion is made about the importance of interaction between NGOs, authorities and business structures in the interests of successful development of the territory of presence. The formation of a localizable social mechanism of intersectoral interaction for these purposes is proposed. The article is based on the results of a sociological research conducted by the Association of NGOs “Sluzhenie”, a network of resource centers of SO NGOs of the Volga Federal District, and the Department of Sociology of Project Activities and Pro-Competitive Regulation of Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod in the spring of 2023 in the Volga Federal District, Russia.