Because we are aware of the limited nature of public resources and that they only increase in proportion to the country’s GDP and must therefore be used rationally,

because we are not indifferent to what is happening with the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia in their own country,

because we are concerned with the international reputation of the Republic of Slovenia, and

because we are non-profit organizations, we depend more on government funding and experience every irregularity considerably more strongly than those who deem their own benefit more important than the welfare of the Republic of Slovenia,



that all those responsible for the public interest (the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and its organs, the municipalities and local self-governing communities, and others) who in any manner distribute public funds on behalf of the Republic of Slovenia

1. immediately and publicly identify and define the areas of public interest in all sectors,
2. not only identify but also rank in order of importance all programs and projects of public interest,
3. make legal subjects the recipients of public resources only in the event that any surplus income is used not for their own benefit but strictly for managing and developing services in the public interest,
4. guarantee equal, comparable, and transparent treatment for all legal subjects implementing programs and projects of public interest—irrespective of who they are—in all fields where public funding is granted,
5. adopt and employ the methods for monitoring and comparing the effective and rational use of public finances recognized worldwide,
6. establish, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, independent expert committees for all public sectors with the equal participation of non-governmental representatives,
7. require in all public tenders that all profit-making organizations supply information on their investments in the public interest of the Republic of Slovenia according to sectors (i.e. education, culture, childcare, welfare, health, research, etc.) and on the type of bidding organizations (i.e. public institution, non-governmental organization, etc.) and publicly use such information as an important selection criteria

COMMENTARY:

Non-governmental organizations implement services that are in the public interest of all citizens. In contrast to other (predominantly profit-making) organizations, non-governmental organizations fill a gap in contemporary society that is considerably more demanding in terms of marketing than simply following current market demand. Moreover, these organizations have a fundamentally different approach to and operation within society compared to capital enterprises with their profit-motivated logic and behaviour.

For this reason, non-governmental organizations are an indispensable and greatly appreciated part of society everywhere in the developed world. Furthermore, the attitude toward non-governmental organizations is regarded as one of the most basic indicators of a society’s level of development, a universally recognized standard of civilization.

Non-governmental organizations

• due to their high proportion of voluntary work and their non-profit nature, make substantially more economical and more valuable use of taxpayer’s money than public sector institutions often do,
• encourage and enable mutual support among groups of citizens and individuals in a community, thereby reducing the burden on the public purse,
• contribute significantly to improving the quality of life of all targeted groups of citizens,
• encourage the discovery of talented individuals and foster the realization of their goals,
• facilitate the acquisition and development of additional knowledge and skills impossible to acquire within the formal education system,
• are an essential and important corrective to established public institutions and due to their ability to adapt can more easily follow and incorporate positive world trends,
• encourage cooperation among generations and reduce intergenerational gaps,
• work to prevent social exclusion and to establish and foster social solidarity and act in particular on behalf of the most vulnerable groups of citizens,
• relative to their financial capabilities, reduce unemployment considerably more than the public sector does,
• reduce and prevent various forms of discrimination,
• due to their approach and method of operation, are less prone to corruption,

and above all, they use substantially less public resources for their successful operation compared with the public sector and are therefore a far more successful partner for the entire community.

By increasing the investment of public resources in non-governmental organizations, the existing inequality between non-governmental organizations and the public sector in the Republic of Slovenia would be reduced. The Republic of Slovenia, which in this respect ranks at the very bottom not only in the EU27 but also among other European states, would thus more closely emulate the developed world, in which non-governmental organizations play a more significant role.

We therefore believe that the Republic of Slovenia must consider the offer and the operation of non-governmental organizations in an equal manner and on par with the country’s public sector institutions.