The sustainability of civil organisations in Slovakia is stable, according to the Civil Society Sustainability Index

For more than 20 years, the Index of Sustainability of Non-Profit Organisations has been mapping the environment that affects civil society. This essential analytical tool offers a detailed analysis of the non-profit sector in seven categories in 24 Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia countries. How did our country fare in the evaluation last year?

The civil society situation in Slovakia in 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, similar to 2020, continued to affect all areas of life in Slovakia. Although vaccination against this disease began in December 2020, the pandemic was not brought under control at the beginning of the year. The government was criticised for mismanagement, poor communication, and the secret purchase of the uncertified Sputnik V vaccine. Public pressure finally forced the resignation of Prime Minister Igor Matovič at the end of March 2022, who exchanged positions with Finance Minister Eduard Heger. Despite this change, society was dissatisfied with the relations in the government coalition, which resulted in anti-government protests. They took place despite the ban on gathering people outside the same household.

Non-governmental and non-profit organisations (NGOs) actively responded to the pandemic. In many cases, they replaced the state; for example, in helping vulnerable groups or in the issue of mental health. They were also involved in debunking misinformation related to the pandemic and vaccination and organised volunteers to help vulnerable groups.

The overall sustainability of NGOs remained the same in 2021. The only area where a change occurred was organisational capacities, with a slight deterioration. The reason is primarily the effects of the pandemic, which caused several organisations to struggle for survival.

Legal environment

The legal environment governing NGOs’ activities did not change significantly in 2021 and continues to remain positively set. Each legal form of NGO is subject to its registration process, which is relatively simple and not lengthy.

As of January 1, 2021, the Ministry of the Interior launched, based on Act no. 346/2018, the Register of Non-Governmental Non-Profit Organisations, which created an up-to-date and unified public register of information on NGOs. The register is expected to contribute to increasing transparency in the sector.

Several laws and policies affecting NGOs were discussed during the year. An amendment to the Act on Free Access to Information was submitted to the interdepartmental comment procedure. It aims to incorporate the European directive on open data and the repeated use of public sector information into the Slovak legal system. The concept of the development of civil society in Slovakia for 2021-2024 was prepared during the year without the sector’s involvement. It was not adopted by the end of 2021.

The Pro Bono Attorneys programme, administered by the Pontis Foundation, continues to provide NGOs with legal services available across the country.

Organisational capacity

To mitigate the consequences of the crisis, several organisations had to reduce their staff in 2021, which affected their ability to complete projects and apply for new ones. As a result of the lack of resources, collaborations that several NGOs had established were cancelled, and there were shifts in project deadlines. NGOs had been undersized and underfunded for a long time, and the brain drain into politics, public administration and business continued in 2021. The capacity differences between strong and established NGOs, based in larger towns, with stable strategies and structures, and between small organisations, mainly located in rural regions, have deepened even more.

The Active Citizens Fung (ACF) grant programme funded by the European Economic Area (EEA) and Norwegian Funds announced the third call in 2021, focused on developing civil society organisations. The programme supports the building of organisational capacities of NGOs, enables organisations to improve their skills and introduces management at a higher standard.

Due to the pandemic, NGOs had to transfer their activities to the online space in 2020, and many of them continued this trend in 2021. More prominent NGOs were able to hold webinars, discussions and lectures that could reach a wider audience.

Financial viability

The majority of NGOs’ dependence on project financing resources meant a high administrative burden. It also made the long-term building of personnel capacities difficult.

Foreign sources were an essential part of funding during the pandemic. ACF continues to offer NGOs a reliable source of financing with a relatively low bureaucratic burden. The programme aims to support civil society, active citizenship and vulnerable groups in Slovakia.

Even in 2021, NGOs could apply for a small number of state subsidy schemes from ministries and subsidies from local governments. The Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation has announced a call for a total of 120,000 euros in support of the digital transformation of Slovakia aimed at combating disinformation and developing information literacy. Even though NGOs were strongly involved in addressing the pandemic at various levels, they received the least support from all segments of the Slovak economy.

Several crowdfunding platforms, such as DARUJME.sk, ĽudiaĽuďom and Donio, offer NGOs the opportunity to obtain resources. Still, the funds provided were insufficient to cover the organisations’ overall operation.

Although gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 5.8% in 2021, this decline did not translate into a shortfall in the income tax allocation. According to data from the Financial Administration, the tax allocation for 2021 reached a historical level of 87 million euros.

Advocacy

The sector’s involvement in creating public policies was not systematic and often had a more declarative than fundamental role, without a real possibility of influencing the shape of the proposed solutions. The strengthening of conservative-oriented political subjects in the parliament has significantly politicised topics such as gender equality, LGBTI rights and reproductive rights. The government created a new position of Representative of the Government of the Slovak Republic for the Protection of Freedom of Religion and Belief. Conservative politician Anna Záborská was appointed as the representative.

During the pandemic, the possibility of gathering was limited, which also impacted the implementation of protests. Some NGOs instead organised petitions to defend their interests. The Climate Needs You initiative created the largest online petition in the history of Slovakia, which more than 127,000 people signed.

Transparency International Slovakia, Fair-Play Alliance, Stop Corruption, VIA IURIS, Slovensko.Digital, Institute for a Well-Governed Society and INEKO created a joint initiative in 2021 to reform existing selection procedures for filling important positions in the public sector. The initiative led to establishing of a working group at the Government Office of the Slovak Republic, which consists of representatives of the NGOs, the Government Office of the Slovak Republic and the Council for the Civil Service. It will focus on setting up the selection process and other tasks.

Service provision

NGOs respond to the needs of the community as well as to the priorities of donors and fill gaps in state-provided services. Even in 2021, many NGOs were actively involved in activities related to the pandemic: distributing protective equipment, assisting vulnerable groups, psychological counselling and crisis intervention for tortured and abused women and children. The sector has also played a key role in raising awareness about the importance of vaccination against COVID-19 and countering misinformation. The KtoPomozeSlovensu (tr. Who Will Help Slovakia) initiative continued to provide medical and protective aids to hospitals, social service centres and other facilities serving vulnerable groups of the population. These activities were carried out without government support.

The situation of personnel in the social services field is complex since, in addition to low wages, workers are often demotivated by physically and mentally demanding work. In 2021, NGOs providing social services covered the lack of staff, mainly volunteers. Crisis helplines experienced a significant surge in 2021, as their capacities were not sufficient to cover the demand.

Sectoral infrastructure

As in previous years, there are still no ISO and NGO centres in Slovakia, which leads to limited access to relevant information, training, technologies and technical assistance. New platforms are created mainly based on current problems and topics. These platforms can usually mobilise people, raise money and attract media attention in a short time.

The Voice of Civil Organisations Platform (renamed to the Platform of Organisations for Democracy in 2022) actively participates in the protection and development of civil society. In 2021, its representatives organised the Better Life for All campaign, aiming to show the public the diversity of non-profit organisations and contribute to clarifying misinformation and lies about the third sector.

Corporate foundations are covered by the Association of Corporate Foundations and Endowments. This informal platform networks members and defends the interests of the community of corporate foundations in Slovakia.

NGOs have access to a sufficient supply of educational activities and training. Several organisations, including the Pontis Foundation, Voices and the Centre for Philanthropy, offer pro bono education. Due to the pandemic, most trainings in 2021 took place online.

Public perception of NGOs

Crises and tensions have contributed to the greater polarisation of society and attacks on NGOs. However, this situation stimulated the activity of volunteers and the creation of new initiatives aimed at helping health workers and vulnerable groups. These efforts and ongoing large-scale campaigns have helped improve the public perception of the sector by highlighting NGOs’ expertise and willingness to help.

The main disinformation topic in 2021 was not the non-governmental sector but the COVID-19 pandemic. However, hoaxes and disinformation, the target of which were NGOs, resonated much more strongly than in 2020. At the discussion of the Office of the European Parliament in Slovakia, which took place in March 2021, it was said that up to 56% of Slovaks believe in conspiracy theories, which is twice as much as the data suggests in the Czech Republic. Besides, 54% of Slovaks think that the protests of the For a Decent Slovakia initiative, which were organised after the death of Ján Kuciak, were directed by foreign powers and that someone was paid for their organisation. In response to the worsening disinformation scene, several campaigns and grants from private companies were created to prevent disinformation from spreading in the online space.

Read the complete Civil Society Sustainability Index