Advocacy, Consultations and Coalition building at Local Level

1
Advocacy, Consultationsand Coalition buildingat
Local Level

• Daniel Csanády
• Department of Social Studies
• Budapest College of Management

2
About the Author

• Public policy advisor in the Hungarian Parliament
• Drafter of laws on public benefit status and 1
  non-profit tax benefit
• Editor of Budapest Review of Law and Politics
• Lecturer at various universities on NGO issues
• Counsellor of Hungarian NGOs on EU forums
• Manager of EU donor projects on higher education
  and NGO development

3
Terms and Abbreviations

• Civil Society Organisation CSO NGO VCO
• specific political categories political parties,
  religious societies and the social partners
• social partners trade unions and employer
  organisations
• specific economic categories cooperatives and
  mutual societies.

4
Overview of Presentation

• Roles of CSOs in the US, in the EU and in Hungary
• Ten Years of CSOs in Hungary
• Milestones of Hungarian CSO Development
• Phases of Hungarian CSO Development
• International and EU standards of consultations
• Recent Developments of Consultation Standards in
  Hungary

5
Roles of Global CSOs

• International Classification of Nonprofit
  Organisations of John Hopkins Comparative
  Nonprofit Sector Project
• Service provision (education and research
  health-care social services regional, economic,
  community development and housing)
• Value and interest representation (culture and
  recreation environmental protection civil
  rights, advocacy and politics business,
  professional and trade unions religions)
• Others (international relations philanthropy and
  voluntarism)

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Remarks to ICNPO Classification

• Federal structure of the USA
• Let us see Massachusetts, Arkansas, and Wyoming
• Integral structure of Europe
• Current Europe looks like the North American
  States after the Articles of Confederation and
  before the US Constitution (1777-1787)
• Hungary was joined to the European Union in 2004
• together with other 9 CEECs
• Hungarian CSOs in EU like CSOs in Arkansas within
  the USA during inter-war period

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Functions of European CSOs

• Communication from the Commission on Promoting
  the Role of Voluntary Organisations and
  Foundations in Europe Annexes 1-2 Survey of 1995
• Service delivery or provision
• Advocacy
• Self-help or mutual aid
• Resource and co-ordination
• Churches, political parties, worker unions,
  business federations, cooperatives, insurance and
  housing associations were not taken into
  considerations

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Roles of Local CSOs in Hungary

• Local Government--CSO Co-operation in Hungary by
  István Sebestény
• Service provision
• Resource allocation
• Communication (internal)
• Consultation
• Legitimacy-building
• Community-mobilising
• Prestige-building (external)

9
Ten Years of Hungarian CSOs

• Areas of activity 1993 2003
• Culture 10,2 10,8
• Religion 1,5 lt 2,7
• Sport 21,8 gtgtgt 13,2
• Recreation 12,7 ltlt 15,9
• Education 9,6 ltlt 14,3
• Research 2,1 2,2
• Health-care 3,7 lt 4,6
• Social services 8,0 8,6
• Catastrophe watch, fireguard 3,6 gtgt 1,6
• Environmental protection 2,1 2,4

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Hungarian CSOs (cont.)

• Economic development 1,8 1,9
• Regional development 3,1 ltlt 5,7
• Civil rights advocacy 1,5 1,3
• Public order 2,2 lt 3,2
• Philanthropy nonprofit federations 1,1 1,5
• Professional business feds 12,1 gtgt 7,8
• Politics 0,9 0,9
• International relations 1,5 1,4
• Other, unknown 0,5
• Total 100,0 100,0

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Milestones for CSOs in Hungary

• Oscillation between civil society development and
  state controlled corporatism
• 1987 Reintroduction foundations into the Civil
  Code
• 1989-90 Freedom of association, political
  parties, and freedom of religions
• 1993-94 Introduction of public law association,
  public law foundation and public law company into
  the Civil Code, and cut of tax advantages of CSOs
• 1996-97 1 tax benefit and public benefit
  status for CSOs

12
Milestones in Hungary (cont.)

• 1999 1 tax benefit for churches
• 2001 establishing tax advantage for churches and
  parishes
• 2002 Government Strategy for CSOs
• 2003 National Fund for CSOs, Special Foundations
  for Political Parties, Law on Volunteers
• 2004 Accession to the European Union
• 2006 2nd National Development Plan for the EU

13
Transitionary Roles of CSOs

• 1st Phase Transition to Market Economy and
  Liberal Democracy mediating social and political
  changes
• 1988-90 developing liberal democracy, e.g.
  political parties, worker unions, business
  federations
• 1990-95 developing civil society providing
  missing services, e.g. new cultural, educational
  and social services

14
Transition in Hungary (cont.)

• 2nd Phase Improving Market Economy balancing
  between private and public services
• 1995-97 developing new services opening new
  markets, e.g. environmental protection, science
  technology
• 1997-99 developing new services breaking old
  monopolies, e.g. economic development, education
  research
• 2000-04 developing quality services providing
  services for privileged and underprivileged, e.g.
  elderly homes for rich and for poor retired people

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New Roles of CSOs in Hungary

• 3rd Phase Improving Participatory Democracy
  Mediating social and economic planning
• Service improvement is needed in new areas.
• EU accession generated new needs and new
  opportunities for quality services,
• There is a need to open new markets again,
• to strengthen local economies,
• to improve communities services,
• hence, to reform development planning.

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Obstacles for Improvement

• But you cant reform local development planning
  without well-established
• regional development associations,
• regional professional business federations,
• national and international advocacy groups,
• as well as local and national institutions of
  consultations.
• On the other hand public administration reform is
  under way in Hungary
• Instead of old county structure EU regions are
  under construction

17
Comparative Statistics

• Areas of activity Average Hungary 1998 200
  3
• Environmental protection 2 2,4
• Civil rights advocacy 4 gtgtgt 1,3
• Professional business federations 7 7,8
• Culture 19 gtgtgt 10,8
• Education Research 23 gtgt 16,5
• Health-care 14 gtgtgtgt 4,6

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Advocacy

• In general, advocacy refers to systematic action
  for social change.
• It includes speaking, writing or acting in
  support of a cause, demanding a change to benefit
  the lives of many or simply focusing on legal and
  policy reform.
• The term advocacy is often used interchangeably
  with the terms lobbying or campaigning.
• In most of the cases, it is used as a general
  term, referring to a methodology that includes
  methods such as lobbying and campaigning.

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Lobbying and Campaigning

• The term advocacy is often used interchangeably
  with the terms lobbying or campaigning.
• In most of the cases, it is used as a general
  term, referring to a methodology that includes
  methods such as lobbying and campaigning.
• In this context, lobbying is defined as
  influencing through direct, private communication
  with decision-makers.
• Campaigning is speaking publicly on an issue with
  a view to generating a response from the wider
  public, which in turn puts pressure on
  decision-makers.

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Petitioning

• Writing official letter, or petitioning,
  government authorities of all levels and
  representatives of international bodies by NGOs
  to make their concerns known and to make
  recommendation for actions
• Letters and petitions should be addressed to the
  appropriate person or office to be able to start
  a due process
• The letter or petition should end with a request
  for written response and possibly a follow-up
  meeting to discuss the matter in person
• If letters or petitions receive no response,
  consider who is the person or body that oversees
  the work of the first recipient.

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Legal Forms of Consultation

• Legal forms ofg Consultations
• Consultative referendum
• Administrative and public hearings
• Right to petition the Government
• Collective bargaining process
• Other institutions, like
• Councils for social dialogue
• Round-table discussions
• Non-judical arbitration
• Series of ombudsmen
• Monitoring reports on special issues

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Social Dialogue in the EU

• The involvement of social partners at the
  European Level is organised three different types
  of activities
• tripartite consultation, which describes the
  exchange between social partners and the European
  public authorities,
• consultation of the social partners, which covers
  the activities of the consultative committees and
  the official consultations in the spirit of
  Article 137 of the Treaty,
• the European social dialogue, which is the name
  given to the bipartite work of social partners,
  whether or not it stems from the official
  consultations of the Commission based on Articles
  137 and 138 of the TEC.

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Right to Consult in the EU

• Protocol on Social policy annexed to the
  Maastricht Treaty (1993) on the application of
  Articles 137 and 138 of the EC Treaty, by
  annexing the Agreement of European Social
  Partners
• Objectives to provide European social partners
  an opportunity to reaching agreements and using
  the power of the EU Commission and Council to
  enforce them.

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Duty to consult in the EU

• Protocol No 7 on the application of the
  principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,
  annexed to the Amsterdam Treaty (1997)
• the Commission should consult widely before
  proposing legislation and, wherever appropriate,
  publish consultation document.

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Reasoning of Consultations

• European Commissions White Paper on European
  Governance
• reduce the risk of the policy-makers just
  listening to one side of the argument or of
  particular groups getting privileged access to
  decision-making.

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Principles of Consultation

• Communication No 704 (2002) from the European
  Commission Towards a reinforced culture of
  consultation and dialogue - General principles
  and minimum standards for consultation of
  interested parties by the Commission
• apply from 1 January 2003 by departments and
  administrators of the EU Commission
• The guiding principle for the Commission is
  therefore to give interested parties a voice, but
  not a vote during the legislative process.

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Limits of Consultation

• Resolution A5-0399/2001 of the European
  Parliament on the White Paper on Governance
• Consultation of interested parties can only
  ever supplement and never replace the procedures
  and decisions of legislative bodies which possess
  democratic legitimacy only the Council and
  Parliament, as co-legislators, can take
  responsible decisions on the context of
  legislative procedures ....

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Rights Under National Laws

• Constitution 36. - Government duty to consult
  CSOs concerning public responsibilities
• Act no IV of 1957 on general procedures of public
  administration
• Basic Act No. XI of 1987 on legislation 19-20,
  27
• Act no XIX of 2005 on the amendment on no LXIII
  of 1992 on freedom of information and data
  protection

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National Laws (cont.)

• Act No. XLIX of 2005 on lobby activity 1 (3)
  a) and (4)
• Act No. XXIX of 2004 on necessary legal actions
  for EU accession 141-43 Requests, petitions
  and reports for public interest 148 (2) e)
  Annulations of Act No. I of 1977 on requests,
  petitions and reports for public interest
• Act No. XC of 2005 on freedom of electronic
  information

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Recommendations for Local Level

• There is pressing need to create jobs and improve
  local markets in Serbia
• It is not possible to introduce market economy
  only by central government measures
• It is not possible to introduce participatory
  democracy by private enterprises either
• If government and private business are going to
  make tacit agreements, poverty, corruption and
  violence will rise, and dictatorship is due to
  come

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Recommendations (cont.)

• Local autonomies have to be strengthen both in
  public administration and in civil society.
• There is need for a third party besides governmet
  and business to improve market economy without
  serious social consequences
• It is urgent to build legal guarantees and
  institutional infrastructure for effective
  advocacy and efficient consultations
• CSOs in Serbia should build coalitions for
  advocating common interests, and should form
  national and local agendas for legal and
  institutional changes

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Building Coalitions for Change?

• Improving local government structures
• Nis and Pirot Ethical code of conduct of public
  administration
• Improving local government structures
• Smederevo committee for employment
• Krusevac committee for social affairs
• Nis Local Economic and Social Councils,
  Memorandum for cooperation between local
  government and CSOs
• Pirot what to do next?

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Correspondence

• For questions, please contactDaniel Csanády
• csanady.daniel_at_villanyi.avf.hu
• or 36-20-9570-470 cell
• or 36-1-356-4695 tel./fax
• ÁVF Társadalomismereti TanszékVillányi út
  11-13,H-1114 Budapest