Civil Society

The Growth of Civil Society in Hungary
There has been a very rapid growth in the numbers of non-profit organisations in Hungary since 1990, as people have responded to new freedoms of association, their own needs and the needs of people around them. Non-profit organisations are an important way in which people can engage with democracy at a grass-roots level, in their day to day lives. There are currently an estimated 50,000 registered non-profit bodies, and it is one of the most active voluntary sectors in Central and Eastern Europe.

However the non-profit sector in Hungary is still emerging, and is in the early stages of its development. There is a need to create a strong and stable non-profit sector, with highly regarded and well-established organisations operating to high standards in professional and accountable ways. However there is a general lack of people with expertise and experience in the day to day management of NGOs, particularly given the rapid growth in the number of organisations.

Early flexibility
In the past Autonómia’s Civil Society programme has focused on responding flexibly to issues within the non-profit sector as they have arisen. The particular focus of the programme was determined on an annual basis, and since Autonómia’s start, have included: the media (when there were concerns about the impartiality of the media and the effects of new legislation); and Roma NGOs.

Present priorities
Autonómia’s experience since 1990 in supporting non-profit organisations led it realise that even the well established medium sized NGOs in Hungary are finding it difficult to develop. This is because of financial instability created by the general move amongst donors to provide short term and project funding. This has resulted in difficulties with attracting and retaining professional staff, and planning for the future. Furthermore NGOs generally need to develop more professional approaches to accountability, long-term planning and sustainability, and models of good practice are especially needed amongst such better established and medium sized organisations.

The current Civil Society programme therefore has two aspects to it.

Firstly it provides multi-year core funding to established non-profit organisations in order to provide them with the financial stability to develop professionally. This in turn will contribute to the development of a strong and stable non-profit sector in Hungary. This aspect of programme is by invitation only.

The Civil Society programme also retains an ad hoc element and continues to set annual themes and priorities, and to respond flexibly to the needs of the sector.