Government Policy and the Nonprofit Sector: Switzerland - VMI

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Nollert and Budowski Government Policy and the Nonprofit Sector: Switzerland The following sections are based on information from leading experts in the field of nonprofit organizations. In the first instance, approx. 100 people in German‐speaking Switzerland 53 were surveyed online (50 percent response rate) 54 . At first glance, the survey showed no dominant issues. The respondents’ opinions differed widely on many issues in terms of their level of importance. In addition, most respondents focused in their answers on the situation of their organization’s work area. On the basis of these findings, a sample was selected and included in a second qualitative interview 55 (see Appendix 1 and 2). Even when respondents indicated that they could not comment on NPO activity in general, they were nonetheless able to express views on a restricted number of areas. In order to reduce redundancy, we will present only those aspects that were not already mentioned in previous sections. These experts considered the following five issues to be particularly important: • Restructuring of Swiss politics • Cooperation with commercial organizations • State financial support • Professionalism • Legal frameworks These five issues will be separately commented on in the next sections. a) Restructuring of Swiss Politics Since the 1990’s political restructuring in Switzerland has been a key issue for the Swiss nonprofit sector because of the increasing political power of the rather NPO‐skeptical Swiss People’s Party (when compared with other parties). The Swiss People’s Party has held two Federal Council seats since 2004, whereas the other two explicitly NPO‐friendly parties (liberal in European terms), the Liberal Democratic Party and Christian Democratic People’s Party, have lost ground in the Federal Council. This restructuring appears to go hand in hand with a general movement towards reducing solidarity, individualization and economization. This trend has now gained a foothold in the relationship between the state and nonprofit sector. In this vein, there appears to be a direct connection between the rise of the Swiss People’s Party and a decreased willingness on the part of the public institutions to finance NPOs. Many deplore the fact that the Swiss People’s Party discredits many of the NPOs’ beneficiaries, such as the poor, disabled or those of foreign origin, since the implication is that they are not worthy of support. In addition, many criticize the Swiss People’s Party’s desire to reduce development aid and concentrate on bilateral and sectoral supporting measures. 53 The German‐speaking region was selected because this region has a greater affinity for the nonprofit sector, whereas a greater affinity for state‐led problem‐solving strategies is found in the French‐ and Italian‐speaking parts of Switzerland. 54 We thank Lic. phil. Nils Wyssbrod for designing the online survey. 55 The qualitative interviews by telephone were carried out by Michael Nollert, Nicole Shephard, Chris Young, and Nils Wyssbrod in December 2007, and January and February 2008 with representatives of NPOs from the German‐speaking part of Switzerland. 20
Nollert and Budowski Government Policy and the Nonprofit Sector: Switzerland The results of the survey reveal that the reluctance of public institutions to fund NPOs increases the competition between organizations to obtain financing. In addition, national NPOs in the social sector are confronted with increased competition from abroad. Some of the foreign NPOs are uncertified by ZEWO and thus do not conform to Swiss Standards in the donor market. World Vision is a key example of such an organization that has not as yet received ZEWO certification but that is prominent in the media and competes aggressively for donors in the Swiss market. Ultimately, many aid organizations, in particular in the field of asylum and refugee work, are no longer competitive (or do not want to be) and are often replaced by for‐profit organizations. A notable example of this is the Red Cross, whose presence in Fribourg was replaced for financial reasons by a Zurich based business in spite of a long history of assisting and helping asylum seekers in Fribourg itself. This increased competition does, however, necessitate a critical review of antiquated processes in organizations. b) Cooperation with Commercial Organizations Unfortunately economically oriented associations and political parties that have close ties to the private sector maintain the view that NPOs should carry out services for which the state had hitherto been responsible thereby delegating the role (“stopgaps”) to NPOs. Although the nonprofit sector is still very much supported in material terms, the results of the qualitative interviews highlight the increasing competition between autonomous NPOs and commercial organizations for the provision of services previously furnished by NPOs. Commercial organizations compete for such services by means of political lobby in key areas of decision‐making, sponsorship in sporting arenas or by the creation of competing foundations and NPOs such as the Novartis or Jacobs Foundation, or Avenir Suisse. NPOs are also facing growing competition from private service organizations in many areas such as the social and health care sector. As mentioned above, the transfer of services from the local Red Cross in Fribourg to a private organization in Zurich is a good example of this type of development. In the arts sector, many private organizations link their sponsorship to an expectation of receiving something in return. However, according to the donation‐monitoring agency (ZEWO Donation Market Report 2006), this trend has had a positive effect, at least in the arts sector, in that the level of donations from private organizations has increased slightly over the past two years. Furthermore, new forms of cooperation between the nonprofit and commercial sectors may be observed, such as the creation of socially and ecologically conscious long‐term mutual funds. Overall, an increasing willingness to support NPOs is anticipated, particularly from the Swiss economic elite, as a result of rising executive salaries and their erstwhile image problem. Even from the perspective of tacit (symbolic) support the economy appears to be developing a skeptical view of certain parts of the nonprofit sector. Whilst some perceive associations as pillars of social well‐being, they are also seen to be weakening the Swiss economy. Criticism is most overtly aimed at the nonprofit activities of environmental associations that are considered to be “economically hostile”. This economic hostility is detected when such associations appear to make use of the Federation Complaint Right to simply block economically 21
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Government Policy and the Nonprofit Sector: Switzerland - VMI

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