From the first ISTR conference in 1994 (Pécs, Hungary) onwards, different themes have appeared on the Third Sector research agenda, some of which disappeared quickly, while others remained. Examples of the latter are, at the macro-level, issues of legitimacy, inequality, democracy, and at the micro-level, organizational aspects, volunteering, or philanthropic behavior. However, these traditional research topics have been and are complemented as a response to emerging global and local phenomena generating substantial turbulence all over the world. Salient examples are the current refugee crises on all continents, the (post-)pandemic, (civil) wars, etc. Over the last decade, the world has been hit by consecutive crises both at the global and local levels. In almost all of them, the Third Sector plays a critical role in solving different problems caused by these crises. This context explains the focus of ISTR’s Sixteenth Conference (Antwerp, 2024) on the role and position of the Third Sector in times of crisis and conflict, which are frequently marked by increasing inequalities and challenges to democracy and participatory governance. Further, the Third Sector plays a crucial role in the pursuit of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for which it might also be engaged by governments and for-profit firms to establish goaloriented networks and cooperations. This requires particular attention as it is evident that the Covid19 pandemic has at least ‘slightly derailed’ SDG efforts.