CIVIL SOCIETY
DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2011 -2014

Tallinn 2011

CONTENT

Introduction ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………. 3
1. Civil education ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. . 8
Objective ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 10
Measure 1: Systematic coordination and organisations of the implementation of the national civil
education policy ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. . 10
Measure 2: Improving the awareness of the population of Estonia of the functioning of dem ocratic
society, the importance and possibilities of participation, and the rights and responsibilities as cit i-
zens ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………….. 11
Measure 3: Purposeful involv ement of less active social groups in civil education i nitiatives ……… 11
2. Operational capability and sustainability of citizens’ associations ………………………….. ……………. 13
Objective ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 15
Measure 1: Developing a legal environment supporting the operational capability and sustainabil i-
ty o f citizens’ associations ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………. 16
Measure 2: Improving the quality, volume and availability of national support se rvices provided to
citizens’ associations ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………….. 16
Measure 3: Improving the organisation of the financing of citizens’ associations from state and
local government budgets ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………… 17
3. Citizens’ associations as partners in providing public services ………………………….. ………………… 19
Objective ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 20
Measure 1: Facilitating the delegation of public services to citizens’ associations and harmoni sing
delegation practices ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………. 21
Measure 2: State and local government support to the contractual delegation of pu blic services to
citizens’ associations and the development of the related capabilities ………………………….. ………….. 21
Measure 3: Facilitating and supporting the development of citizens’ associations providing servi c-
es ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………… 22
Measure 4: Taking into account the feedback received from citizens’ associations organising the
services and from service users ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………. 23
4. Involvement ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. … 23
Objective ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 25
Measure 1: Improving the organisation of involvement at the state and local go vernment levels …. 25
Measu re 2: Developing involvement practices ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………… 25
5. Charity and philanthropy ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………… 27
Objective ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 29
Measure 1: Improving the organisation of the donating environment ………………………….. …………… 29
Measure 2: Developing and disseminating good donating practices ………………………….. …………….. 29
Measure 3: Supporting and promotin g the involvement and coordination of volunteers in cit izens’
associations ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …….. 30
Measure 4: Raising awareness and popularity of volunteer activities. Information about possibil i-
ties of volunteering in citizens’ associations is available ………………………….. ………………………….. .. 30
6. Cost forecast ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. … 31
7. Implementation and coordination of the Development Plan ………………………….. ……………………. 31
8. Important terms and definitions used ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………….. 34
9. Connections with other strategic documents and area -specific deve lopment plans …………………. 36

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Introduction

Civil society is understood to be a society w here people’s basic rights and freedoms are protected
and where they can carry out own initiative based cooperation to represent their interests and to
influence political decisions through citizens’ associations and networks. Citizens’ associations,
which are the second most important target group of the development plan besides the public
authorities, are uniformly understood to be non -governmental non -profit organisations, whereas the
use of the term is based on the applicable literary standard. Non -prof it association is an equivalent
term to citizens’ association. For more definitions of the terms used in the Development Plan,
please see Chapter 9.
A strong and democratic civil society keeps its members socially active so that the members and
their assoc iations and the public authorities could work together towards the basic values
established in the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia. These basic values are liberty, justice and
law, internal and external peace, social progress and welfare and the pr eservation of the Estonian
nation and culture.
Above all, this Development Plan addresses the role of civic initiative carried out in public interests
in the entire civil society and establishes strategic objectives for 2014 as well as measures for public
authorities to create favourable conditions for the development of the civil society and for
supporting civic initiative. The role of public authorities in facilitating the development of civil
society first of all lies in shaping the legal environment and the decisions regulating or influencing
activities based on civic initiative as well as in establishing practices that the representative of
public authority use in communicating with citizens and their associations. The latter requires
awareness, an atti tude supportive of civic initiative and skills of involvement, financing, public
services delegation and supervision. Indeed, the development plan contains measures for both
directions: the ones shaping the associations’ activity environment and operationa l capability as
well as the ones introducing the best practices.
The Civil Society Development Plan is an area -specific development plan, the coordination and
implementation of which is the responsibility of the Minister of Regional Affairs and which is
im plemented both by government agencies and local level institutions and citizens’ associations.
The Development Plan has been prepared in order to ensure that all these parties have a uniform
understanding of the objectives and activity directions of the ci vil society. The Development Plan
also establishes links to bordering areas, like the involvement of the Russian -speaking population in
social life, but avoids duplicating activities – for instance, the measures contained in the Integration
Plan are not re peated in this Development Plan.
The Development Plan comprises five topics: civil education, the operational capability and
sustainability of citizens’ associations, the partnership of citizens’ associations and public
authorities in providing public serv ices, involvement, and charity and philanthropy, which are all
strongly intertwined. Thus, civil education develops people’s values and skills, including, for
instance, the wish to work as volunteers or to participate in the activities of citizens’ associa tions, in
order to be more effectively included and have a say in deciding common issues. Citizens’
associations, on the other hand, contribute to solving social problems, for instance, by providing

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public services. In turn, support structures are needed t o ensure that citizens are active participants
in social life and citizens’ associations are able to fulfil their role.
The principles of the Development Plan are aimed at the whole civil society, but more specific
target groups are defined by objectives. The current situation in the development of civil society as
well as the main problems and proposals for overcoming the problems are addressed under every
topic, and in order to link the Development Plan and its implementation plan, references to the
latte r have been provided. The implementation plan complements the objectives and measures of
the Development Plan, providing a plan of activity, resources and responsible parties.

Links to European Union and Estonia’s strategic documents and other national
de velopment plans
The Development Plan has been prepared in consideration of the overall trends in the development
of civil society in Estonia and Europe and strategic documents addressing the development of the
area so far. On the European Union level, ther e are no directly applicable or binding legal acts
regulating the civil society. The Development Plan follows the principles provided in the European
Commission’s White Paper: European Governance and the proposals presented in that document 1.
The Developme nt Plan also takes into account the proposals presented in European Commission’s
discussion document European Commission and Non -governmental Organisations: Building a
Stronger Partnership” 2. The national strategy documents taken into account in the prepar ation of the
Development Plan include the Estonian Civil Society Development Concept , the Government
Pr ogramme for 2007 -2011 and the National Strategic Reference Framework 2007 –2013 . In
addition, the Development Plan is linked to several area -specific development plans cur rently being
developed or already implemented. An overview of important strategic documents is provided in
Chapter 10.

Impact indicators of the Development Plan

The implementation of the Development Plan is expected to increase the level of participation of
citizens in social life, improve the operational capability of citizens’ associations and increase the
efficiency of cooperation between the third sector and the public sector. The impact indicators of
the Development Plan are as follows:
1) Level of par ticipation of citizens in social life (civil education; operational capability of
citizens’ associations; involvement; charity and philanthropy).
Base level 2010 Target level
2014
Source Responsibl
e agency
1 White Paper: European Governance COM(2001) 428 https://ec.europa.eu/governance/white_paper/en.pdf 2 https://ec.europa.eu/civil_society/ngo/docs/communication_en.pdf

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1. Proportion of volunteers in
population 27%
2. Rate of non -institutional social –
political participation of population
(5%)
3. Understanding of (26%) and interest
in (45%) politics
35%

7%

35% and 45%

1. Centre of Registers and
Information Systems,
Business Support and Credit
Management Foundation
2. European Social Survey
and Survey:
Institutionalisation of Civic
Initiative in Estonia
European Social Survey
3. European Social Survey
MoI

MoI
MoI

MoI

2) Operational capability of citizens’ associations (operational capability of citizens’
associat ions; charity and philanthropy)
Base level 2010 Target level
2014
Source Responsib
le agency
1. 1. Proportion of non -profit associations
with paid employees (32%)
2. 2. Proportion of citizens’ association
with experience of involving regular
volunteers of citi zens’ associations
engaging volunteers (60%)
40%

70%
1. Estonian Tax and
Customs Board

2. Survey:
Institutionalisation of Civic
Initiative in Estonia
MoI

MoI

3) Public and third sector cooperation and diversity of forms of cooperation (charity and
phila nthropy; citizens’ associations as partners in providing public services; involvement;
charity and philanthropy)

Base level 2010 Target level
2014
Source Responsibl
e agency
1. Satisfaction with the organisation of
involvement on ministry level (sati s-
fac tion of officials 2.18 and satisfa c-
tion of partners 2.11 (on a scale of 5,
where 1 in the highest)
2. Ministries follow the good practices
of involvement (74 %)
3. Proportion of local governments that
have delegated public services to
citizens’ associatio ns 60%
4. Cooperation experience of public
authorities and citizens’
associations: 24% of local
governments, 31% of county
governments and 17% of ministry
officials cooperate with citizens’
associations.
1.5 and 1.5

85%

70%

40% 30% 20%
1.Analysis of involvement
practices of government
agencies

2. Analysis of involvement
practices of government
agencies
3. Contractual delegation of
public services of local
government units to citizens’
associations

4. Survey:
Institutionalisation of Civic
Initiati ve
State
Chancel –
lery

MoI

MoI

Through the implementation of the Development Plan, public authorities will create favourable
conditions for the development of civil society, with the aim of:

6

– increasing the efficiency of public sector cooperation in the development of civil society
and ensuring the governmental sector’s uniform approach to supporting civic initiative and
civil society;
– contributing to the promotion of participatory democracy and embedding the values and role
of civil society;
– streng thening the operational capability of citizens’ associations and supporting the growth
of the socio -economic role of citizens’ associations;
– strengthening the partnership of citizens’ associations and the public sector;
– valuing and promoting volunteer act ivities and charity.

Cross -sectoral development activities
The coordination and implementation of the topics of the Civil Society Development Plan (civil
education, operational capability and sustainability of citizens’ associations, partnership of citize ns’
associations and public authorities in providing public services, involvement, and charity and
philanthropy) requires cross -sectoral development activities, which are understood to be cross –
topical supportive activities in order to ensure that the topi cs of the Development Plan are balanced
and interlinked.
Legal regulation. Analysis of the impact of the legal environment on the development of civil
society and uniform agreement of the terms citizens’ association acting in public interests and
charitabl e, the creation of a legal definition of volunteer activities and legal clarity in citizens’
associations earning a revenue through economic activities.
Awareness -raising activities. Introduction of the area of civil society and the creation of clarity of
roles. Awareness -raising ensures the up -to-date quality and availability of information, including
the mutual interfacing of individual information portals. The objective of the awareness -raising
plan is to plan the awareness -raising activities related to the implementation of the Civil Society
Development Plan.
Training. Seminars for local governments on the following topics: the role, importance and
cooperation possibilities of civil society, including the involvement of citizens’ associations as
partners in the development of local life. This includes ensuring various training events for citizens’
associations (new and existing).
Surveys. Repeated surveys ensure the comparability of data, the possibility to describe trends and
assess the impact of the De velopment Plan activities and measures. The following repeated surveys
will be carried out in the framework of the Development Plan: Institutionalisation of Civic Initiative
in Estonia, Participation in Volunteer Activities in Estonia, NGO Sustainability I ndex (by the
United States Agency for International Development, or USAID), and an analysis report on civil
education and volunteer activities shall be prepared on the basis of the European Social Survey
data.

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1. Civil education

Background and problem de scription
The aim of civil education is to support the development of caring and considerate communities,
and to facilitate the strengthening of civil society and democratic culture. The efficiency of the civil
education policy is, among other things, mani fested by citizens’ activity and participation.
In promoting civil education, the main focus has so far been on social studies in general education
schools, where it has now found a firm place in the curriculum and survey results 3 give reason to be
satisfi ed – the level of democracy -related knowledge among the school youth has increased. By
their attitudes and participation, Estonian teenagers are at the average level in international
comparison and the dangerous gap in awareness between Estonian -speaking a nd Russian -speaking
schools observed a decade ago has decreased. Young people are also active as citizens (44% take
part in volunteer activities, 30% in organising campaigns etc), and the European Union civil
education programme Youth in Action has been la unched successfully.
Civil education is also promoted among adults. There are informal education schools, a part of the
population participates in the activities of community societies and other associations, where people
gain experience of doing things to gether and deciding things together. In addition, associations
contribute to the development of the civil skills and knowledge of their members by providing
training. There are important initiatives encouraging active citizenship, like Let’s Do It!, awaren ess –
raising campaigns and social actions, which motivate people to think along and act in the interests
of the community. But latest surveys still show that the proportion of those who have participated in
at least four different types of social activities in the last few years is only 11% of the population of
Estonia. The proportion of passive people, who only take part in voting, is the highest (39%). Data
from the European Social Survey allows us to consider 9.3% of the population active. 4
Therefore, th e resources invested in civil education have not yet resulted in a significant
contribution in strengthening democracy in Estonia. One of the reasons for that is the extensive
fragmentation of the area between individual actors and the insufficient targeti ng of policies; the
objectives established under various implementation plans are not cohesive and the links and
impact of programmes and initiatives have not been analysed. Considerable responsibility for the
implementation of activities is placed on the third sector, whose initiatives are not always
sustainable due to project -based financing.
As a policy area, civil education has been addressed in the Activity Plan for the Implementation of
the Estonian Civil Society Development Concept 5, as well as in th e organisation of the policy of
individual areas. For instance, the facilitation of informal learning for adults in order to develop
own initiative and social responsibility is one of the objectives of the Adult Education Development
Plan for 2009 -2013. On e of the priorities of the Youth Work Strategy for 2009 -2013 is to increase
the participation of young people. For shaping the character and attitudes of pre -school children and
3 Presentation of IEA 2009 civil education sur vey https://media.tlu.ee/archive/index.php/Esitlus/IEA+Vaimela 4 European Social Survey https://ess.nsd.uib.no/ Using the results of 2008 and ta king into account the respondents
who in the past 12 months have done at least two activities included in the following list: contacting a politician or a
government official, worked for the benefit of a party or civic initiative, worked in a citizens’ ass ociation or society,
worn a campaign badge, signed a petition, participated in a picket, boycotted a certain product. 5 As a long -term priority, the Civil Society Development Plan places great emphasis on the need to increase the
level of civil education a nd active citizenship and to strengthen participatory democracy.

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school youth, the national programme Value Development in the Estonian Society 2009 -2013 has
been launched. The civil education of ethnic minorities is one of the tasks foreseen in the Estonian
Integration Plan. The Civil Society Development Plan does not duplicate other activity plans, but
focuses on bottlenecks in the overall orga nisation of civil education and on supplementing area –
specific policies.
The implementation of the Development Plan concentrates on three directions: the creation of a
system for coordinating the area, the improvement of the quality and content of civil e ducation, and
the involvement of more people in civil education. The main target groups of the measures are the
institutions and organisations involved in the organisation of civil education, and the less active part
of the population.
The well -advised pla nning of civil education is of primary importance in order to create the pre –
conditions for the development of a more participatory society. As a solution, experts have
proposed the joint policy model 6, which brings together both the public sector and thir d sector
organisations. In the first stage of implementing the said model, a common information field will be
created (Measure 1, Activity 2) for the purpose of enhancing communication between the parties
and to increase mutual trust between partners as we ll as their overall capabilities. The second stage
is focussed on concentrating expert knowledge and on developing and implementing a policy to
create the necessary administrative structure (Measure 1, Activity 3). The model does not foresee
the centralisa tion of all the activities promoting civil education, but rather the better coordination
thereof, and the unit responsible for the implementation of the policy may be placed in existing
structures – reaching an agreement in regards to the cooperation model , the policy implementation
mechanisms and the necessary resources is of paramount importance.
Simultaneously with improving the coordination, we have to ensure that both the education system
and the non -formal learning possibilities offer a more practical democracy experience. Civic
initiative and entrepreneurship are a carrying theme in national general education curricula, but
schools need instruction and counselling. For instance, in how to cooperate with citizens’
associations, carry out community proj ects and volunteer activities for achieving study objectives
(Measure 2, Activity 1) or how to implement school democracy in a more efficient manner
(Measure 2, Activity 2).
Civil education cannot be limited to graduation from a general education school, but training
programmes (incl. professional training and further training) should also support the increase of
knowledge and skills needed in the community or in the active participation of discussing matters
of national importance (Measure 2, Activity 3). The importance of civil society involvement in the
planning and implementation of policies also has to be emphasised in the education and training of
public sector employees (Measure 2, Activity 4). Public authorities have the opportunity and task to
ensu re that initiatives supporting active citizenship organised by citizens’ associations – like the
shadow elections, pre -election debates, study buses and other initiatives – by also increasing the
role of local governments in supporting civil education rela ted initiatives (Measure 2, Activity 5).
People who do not have a positive participating experience or whose social networks do not
motivate them to change their passive attitude often do not take part in training events and
initiatives. As the workplace c onstitutes an important communication network for working -age
people, a dialogue should be opened with employers to find possibilities for promoting civil
education at the workplace (Measure 3, Activity 1). At the community level, the emergence of
6 Joint policy model for civil education https://www.siseministeerium.ee/public/KH_yp_mudel_080610.rtf

9

simpler learning models can be facilitated to increase civil awareness and contribute to the
development of discussion culture (Measure 3, Activity 2).
The importance of civil education should be acknowledged more in working with target groups
who have a risk of e xclusion due to their low capability in communicating with the state, e.g. the
elderly, people who do not speak the state language, people with low level of education living in
periphery areas (Measure 3, Activity 3). Awareness of possibilities of particip ating in social life is
not sufficient among non -Estonian community groups who need support and encouragement to join
networks of citizens’ associations and to participate more actively in third sector initiatives
(Measure 3, Activity 4).

Objective
Civil education is systematically coordinated and efficiently organised, increasing the active and
responsible participation of the population of Estonia in social life.

Explanation
The joint policy model will be applied to ensure systematic coordination of ci vil education. Firstly,
a programme -based approach will allow us to establish priorities, improve the availability of civil
education, and ensure the diversity and consistency of initiatives. Secondly, it will also allow us to
monitor the impact and effici ency of initiatives. At the same time, attention will be paid to
improving the content of civil education and reaching less involved target groups. Importance is
placed on the cohesion of formal and non -formal education systems and the development of
metho ds enabling the assimilation of practical experience. Diverse learning models will be
implemented to involve various target groups.

Measure 1: Systematic coordination and organisations of the implementation of the
national civil education policy
The unit responsible for the development and implementation of the civil education policy will be
launched. The first task of the civil education policy implementation unit will be to serve the
Democracy Education Advisory Committee, which comprises social scienti sts, education
employees and representatives of local governments, the media and the business and third sectors,
and which is responsible for the planning and coordinating of the area and organises regular
monitoring. The civil education implementation uni t will also have executive power and be ensured
with a constant budget for the implementation of the activity programme.
Activities are planned in stages – starting with convening a cooperation network based on
partnership between the various parties and c reating a common information field. The first step is to
create a digital information space, which concentrates information about civil education service
providers, programmes and projects, guidelines and study materials, best practices, possibilities of
finding funding for civil education related initiatives and research in the area. In the next stage, we
will start concentrating on knowledge and experience.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– the parties’ satisfaction with cooperation and the civil education coordination system;
– the fulfilment of the activity plan agreed for promoting civil education;

10

Measure 2: Improving the awareness of the population of Estonia of the functioning of
democratic society, the importance and possibiliti es of participation, and the rights and
responsibilities as citizens
The focus here is on improving the content of civil education, creating cohesion between learning
models and increasing the importance of practical experience based learning. With the
imp lementation of a new curriculum in the formal education system, the introduction of active
learning methods and the development of participatory school culture will be encouraged and
motivated in general education schools.
In cooperation with training ins titutions, recommendations for increasing the share of civil
education related components in professional studies and further training programmes,
encouraging, above all, a more active introduction of methods based on practical tasks in improving
the stude nts’ civil skills. The aim is to develop the following skills in students: considering the
opinions of others, negotiation skills, ability to assume responsibility, involving others in decision –
making etc.
Activities to increase the awareness of specialis ts working in various sectors of the essence of the
functioning of a democratic society and the interaction of the parties will include joint training
events for employees and job experience days for students and cooperation to offer more diverse
practice opportunities to young specialists. Local governments will also be motivated to support
community -based civil education initiatives. The partnerships and discussions created in the course
of planning and implementing activities will give a new impetus to i ncreasing the value of civil
education in the society.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– school democracy has become a natural part of school culture;
– level of knowledge of civil rights among the adult population;
– awareness of the po pulation of politics and political decisions.

Measure 3: Purposeful involvement of less active social groups in civil education initiatives
In order to increase the level of active citizenship, people with less experience in participating need
to be encou raged, so as to make them feel comfortable in a democratic environment and able and
willing to have a say in the matters concerning the society. In the implementation of the
Development Plan, emphasis will be placed on making civil education opportunities accessible to
those target groups that have, for various reasons, not been included in regular training activities or
initiatives.
At the community level, the creation of civil education study groups will be motivated and
encouraged, to facilitate mutual c ooperation among the residents of a neighbourhood in sharing the
knowledge and skills essential for coping in a democratic society. Training and counselling will be
provided to social welfare specialists in order to increase the use of civil education oppo rtunities in
preventing social exclusion and improving the coping abilities of individuals and families.
In cooperation with employers, possibilities to improve the civic competencies of working -age
population at the workplace, motivating the implementatio n of participatory learning based
initiatives in work collectives. In order to increase the participatory skills and experience of ethnic
minority communities, non -Estonian community groups will be encouraged to more actively
participate in the area -specif ic initiatives and networks of the third sector.

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Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– the share of population involved in civil education training activities and initiatives.

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2. Operational capability and sustainability of citizens’ associations

Background and problem description

Legal environment
The operational capability of citizens’ associations is largely based on the legal environment, which
either facilitates or impairs the civil society development trends. The laws regulati ng non -profit
associations and foundations create a good basis for the establishment and operations of
associations, while uniform bases of taxation and accounting requirements provide a framework for
economic activities and the disclosed annual reports ma ke the third sector more transparent.
For a number of years, the survey conducted by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) has also included an assessment of the sustainability of Estonian citizens’
associations in various topical areas. In 2009, the legal environment received the second best grade 7
(1.7), but in practice several development directions need legal analysis and regulation: citizens’
associations increasingly engage in economic activities in order to earn self -generate d income,
provide public and community services, launch social companies etc (Measure 1, Activity 1).
Citizens’ associations operate as non -profit associations and foundations in very diverse areas, from
hobby activities to commercial purposes, from religi ous organisations and village societies to trade
unions and political parties, professional associations, unions of enterprises and local governments,
associations acting solely in the interests of their members and associations established by
government a gencies or local governments. This diversity makes gathering and analysing data
about the third sector difficult. The classification of Estonian economic activities (EMTAK), which
is the basis for gathering and processing statistical data, also needs analy sis and specification, and
in order to do that and to better organise the register, the Ministry of Justice has planned activities
in accordance with the procedure stipulated in § 36 1 of the Non -profit Associations Act (Measure 1,
Activity 4).
No distincti on of entities acting in public interests is made in the register and in statistical data or in
the List of Non -profit Associations and Foundations Benefiting from Income Tax Incentives established
by Government of the Republic Order No 94 of 8 February 20 00, where the narrowly interpreted
definition of charitable activities applies as an additional requirement. Entries into the list are not
made consistently and it contains organisations, which by legal criteria should not be included in
the list. The role of income tax incentives needs to be analysed and the list organised in a clearer
manner (Measure 1, Activity 2).
Since 2010, non -profit associations also submit their annual reports electronically to the register of
non -profit associations and foundation s, which creates possibilities for electronic processing and
analysing of the basic data of associations (number of members, turnover, self -generated income,
funding received from various financing entities etc). The organisation of the register on the bas is
of the submitted electronic annual reports will be launched (Measure 1, Activity 3).
7 (on a s cale of 1 to 7, where 7 is the poorest grade) NGO Sustainability Index, USAID, 2009,
www.ngo.ee/indeks

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Publicly funded support structure services for citizens’ associations
Citizens’ associations need consistent support services funded from the state budget: counselling ,
possibilities to receive training and consultation, various mentoring and development programmes,
information about developments in the third sector and their area, access to research and analyses,
events to discuss common issues etc.
Such services are p rovided by approximately twenty consultants working at the county
development centres coordinated by Enterprise Estonia. Similar support services are also provided
by the Network of Estonian Non -profit Organisations (weekly e -letter, journal Good Citizen,
conferences, spring and summer schools etc) and the Centre for Volunteer Activities (training and
consultation related to volunteer activities, development activities). Certain support activities
necessary for associations are organised by the National Fou ndation of Civil Society and
counselling is provided to villages by the Estonian Village Movement Kodukant through its
network of coordinators and consultants as well as by various area -specific umbrella organisations
of associations.
According to the USAI D Sustainability Index, the services provided by support structures are
ranked at the highest level in Estonia – 1.6 (on a scale of 1 to 7, where 7 is the poorest grade).
Support services have been developed and implemented, but both overlapping and extens ive
fragmentation of activities occurs. The provision of services has to be better coordinated, with the
aim to achieve a high stable quality of the services, to avoid overlapping and to cease inefficient
activities. In addition, work is done to develop th e quality of the training and development
programmes intended for managers of citizens’ associations and to coordinate the financing of these
programmes, as managers increasingly need an individual approach and possibilities to participate
in training thro ugh national training support similar to the one provided to companies (Measure 2,
Activities 1, 2).
The qualification of the counsellors of county development centres needs to be harmonised. The
information system of county development centres (MAKIS) wil l be launched at the beginning of
2011. Portals offering similarly orientated support services (information, guidelines, sample forms,
e-counselling etc) – like MAKIS and www.ngo.ee need cohesion and coordination both in the
interests of better availability and the more efficient use of resources (Measure 2, Activities 3, 4).

Improving the organisation of funding of citizens’ associations from state and local
government budgets
Besides self -generated income (including mem bership fees) and private sector support, public
funding is one of the three sources for income for citizens’ associations. Comparison with
developed countries with a strong third sector shows that, on the average, public funding forms
nearly a half (48%) of the income of citizens’ associations and is the most important source of
income (self -generated income 45% and private sector support 7%). 8 Estonia has not gathered the
relevant statistical data, but it has been assessed in various studies. In 2009, non -profit associations
listed their main sources of financing as follows: income from membership fees (63% of
associations), support from local governments (51%) and from national funds (31%). There is less
8 Salamon, Sokolowski, List “Global Civil Society, vol. 2: Dimensions of the Non -profit Sector” (2004), p. 30
etc.

14

mention of income from economic activities (28%), s upport from the state budget (22%) and from
Estonian enterprises (17%). 9
In 2009, the USAID Index ranking for the financial sustainability alongside the organisational
sustainability and the provision of public services was the lowest – 2.4. This backlog r equires
activities to be planned to strengthen the operational capability and sustainability of citizens’
associations. Surveys of funding practices of citizens’ associations, including the Report on the
Analysis of the State Budget Funding of Citizens’ As sociations 2006 -2007 10 and the Preparation of
Model of Principles for the Allocation and Use of Support to Associations from Gambling Tax 11
have highlighted the problems and bottlenecks of state budget based funding of associations.
The Development Plan app lies the principles of the Concept of Improving the Organisation for
State Budget Funding of Citizens’ Associations 12 approved by the Government of the Republic. For
the implementation of the said programme, the Programme for Improving the Organisation of
National Funding for Citizens’ Associations has been developed (Measure 3, Activity 1 and various
other Activities).
The Government finances associations through project grants, delegation of services and activity
support 13. In Estonia, the least common of t hese is activity support, which means supporting the
activities and development of partner organisations that are important for public authorities and
which requires a higher level of professional skills from the financing party and a deeper
understanding of the activities and the role of citizens’ associations. The implementation plan
creates the preconditions for allocating activity support (Measure 3, Activities 1 and 2).
The diversity of available funding structures has created a need for closer regular cooperation
between such structures (in which the Network of Estonian Non -profit Organisations took the first
steps in 2010), in order to harmonise support terms and conditions, application and reporting forms
and other practices applied and to ensure dem ocratic decisions and transparency of activities
(Measure 3, Activity 3).
The already implemented sources of financing aimed at increasing the operational capability of
citizens’ associations need to be continued and developed further – The National Found ation of
Civil Society (Measure 2, Activity 5) and the local own initiative programme (Measure 2, Activity
6). Year by year, local governments have become more aware of the essence of civic initiative and
the need to support it and many local governments h ave developed a special procedure for the
purpose. The Ministry of the Interior needs to analyse that and disseminate the best practices and
examples, in order to ensure their implementation in all the local governments (Measure 3, Activity
4).

Objective
State agencies and local governments support the activities of citizens’ associations. Citizens’
associations are sustainable and capable of operation and cooperation, and act as the initiators and
implementers of social change.
9 Civil Society Research and Development Centre of Tallinn University, 2010:
https://www.siseministeerium.ee/public/KUAK2010_institutsionaliseerumine.pdf 10 PRAXIS, 2008, https://www.siseministeerium.ee/public/K_RErahastamise_2006 -2007_anal_siraport.pdf 11 BDA Cosulting OÜ, 2008, https://www.siseministeerium.ee/public/BDA2008_hasartmangumaksu_mudel.pdf 12 Concept for Improving the Organisation of State Budget Funding for Citizens’ Associations,
https://www.siseministeerium.ee/public/Rahkon_260309.pdf 13 It is also widely common for governments to support associations through the tax system, free or discount
premises, training and other such offers, loans and loan guarantees etc.

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Explanation
A strong civil society and operationally capable citizens’ associations as parts thereof form an
important prerequisite for the development of democracy. This means that citizens and the
representatives of public authority and the business sector value the role of citiz ens’ associations in
the society. The structures of public authority can strengthen civil society by shaping a favourable
legal environment, developing the services provided by the support structures supporting the
activities of associations and improving the organisation of funding mechanisms. The legal
framework establishes the specifications of citizens’ associations based on the content of their
objectives and activities. The state budget funded structures supporting the activities of associations
will be further developed, training and development programmes, measures and grants will be
implemented to ensure the sustainability and operational capability of citizens’ associations and the
promotion of cooperation to increase the participation of people in having their say in social
matters, protecting the needs and interests of stakeholders and in providing public and community
services and creating jobs.

Measure 1: Developing a legal environment supporting the operational capability and
sustainability of citizens’ associations
Legal acts stipulating the activities of citizens’ associations will specify regulations, define more
clearly the different roles of associations (e.g. acting in public interests). This will include the legal
definition of voluntee r activities, as well as the legal status of persons acting as volunteers, and
legal mechanisms for volunteers to cover their expenses so that organisations can avoid an
additional tax burden.
The problems citizens’ associations have encountered in the cou rse of performing economic
activities and earning self -generating income will be analysed and the necessary guidance materials
will be developed. Other things requiring analysis from the legal aspect include the developments
of recent years, like the provi sion of public services by citizens’ associations as well as associations
engaged in social entrepreneurship or the provision of community services, charity and other such.
The role of the List of Non -profit Associations and Foundations Benefiting from In come Tax Incentives
established by Government of the Republic Order No 94 of 8 February 2000 and the legal
consequences of being included in the list will be specified.
In order to ensure the transparency of the third sector, measures will be implemented, under which
national statistics and the information obtained through the annual reports submitted to the register
of non -profit associations and foundations provide a correct and sufficiently extensive overview of
the activities of non -profit associations and foundations.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– sustainability of the Estonian non -profit sector (comprises seven sub -indicators);
– assessment of the impact of the implemented amendments to the law on citizens’
associations.

Mea sure 2: Improving the quality, volume and availability of national support services
provided to citizens’ associations
An important factor facilitating the operational capability of citizens’ associations is the availability
and quality of support services , which include counselling, notification, training, training grants,

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mentoring and development programmes, and the provision of these via IT solutions etc. In order to
improve the availability and quality of support services, the state supports the mappin g of the
services provided to citizens’ associations and the providers of such services, and the creation of a
coordinated system. Cohesive counselling and information portals will be developed to concentrate
necessary information about the establishment a nd everyday operation of citizens’ associations,
sample documents, information about training and funding possibilities and events all over Estonia,
matters related to promoting volunteer activities, and other services. E -counselling of citizens’
associati ons will be launched with the help of competent consultants and a database of frequently
asked questions will be created.
This will also include the creation of bodies of information concerning area -specific training
providers, associations operating in i ndividual counties, providers of public services etc. Support
services will be provided to citizens’ associations under long -term contracts, which will improve
the quality of the services and make them more systematic. Training and development programme
for new and existing associations will be developed further and a system of further training for
managers of citizens’ associations will be created.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– efficiency of the activities of national support str uctures for citizens’ associations;
– satisfaction of citizens’ associations with national support services and the providers of
these services.

Measure 3: Improving the organisation of the financing of citizens’ associations from state
and local government budgets
In order to provide well -organised financing to citizens’ associations acting in public interests,
uniform funding practices and procedures will be used in the public sector, which will contribute to
transparent, accessible and efficient financing that protects public interests. A programme for
improving the organisation of state funding of citizens’ associations will be implemented.
The funding of associations from the state budget is based on the needs arising from the
implementation of national development plans. For that purpose, the resources aimed at improving
the operational capability and sustainability of associations will be increased and partnership
between the public sector and associations will be promoted. Criteria will be developed fo r
advocate organisations, on the basis of which the ministries will allocate activity support for
partners for participation and involvement of members (advocacy).
For allocating support to citizens’ associations from the state budget, clearer and more uni form
criteria (disclosure of information about activities, ethical conduct), transparent terms and
conditions and procedures for awarding grants (processing of applications and the decision -making
process in awarding grants) will be established.
In order t o strengthen the operational capability and sustainability of citizens’ associations and their
umbrella organisations and networks and to implement innovative civic initiative based ideas, the
needs and possibilities will be analysed and plans will be prep ared to increase the state budget
funding for the further development of the operating and cooperating capability of citizens’
associations as well as for improving their ability to participate in social processes and
competitiveness.
Local governments wi ll be encouraged to develop and implement procedures and terms and
conditions for funding citizens’ associations.

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Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– well -organised system of funding citizens’ associations from the state budget;
– proport ion of citizens’ associations receiving support from more than three sources of
financing.

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3. Citizens’ associations as partners in providing public services

Background and problem description
The Government of the Republic has approv ed the concept prepared by the Ministry of the Interior
– the Directions of Contractual Delegation of Public Services to Non -profit Associations 14 – which
forms the basis of the majority of the measures and activities presented in this chapter.
The contract ual transfer of the provision of public services to citizens’ associations is a rather
common practice in local governments: that kind of cooperation is practiced by more than a half of
the local governments (ca 60%), the residents of which make up approxi mately 87% of the
population of Estonia. Local governments finance the activities of citizens’ associations and the
public services provided by associations in various ways, sometimes also without clearly defining
the services in contracts and without ackn owledging the provision of services in the framework of
activity support (incl. free use of assets) or project grants.
The provision of public services is delegated to citizens’ associations most commonly in the social,
sports, culture and youth work areas , whereas 2/3 of these service providers are civic initiative
based associations. The local governments who are cooperating with citizens’ associations in
providing services and have delegated the provision of public services to associations are generally
satisfied with the work, rating highly the substantial quality of the services and the consideration of
the needs of target groups. They also have great interest in transferring more services to citizens’
associations, mainly in areas where services are cu rrently already delegated and where the
capabilities of the third sector are highly rated.
In addition to areas where they have more experience, local governments are also interested in
transferring public services in areas where the capabilities of citize ns’ associations are not yet
considered to be that strong: social services, hobby education, crime prevention and public
maintenance. These assessments indicate the necessary development activities – in the former
areas, guidelines and more systematic supp ort materials would be needed and in the latter areas
service descriptions should be prepared, service providers instructed and mutual cooperation
developed. However, there are also obstacles affecting the ability of local governments and citizens’
associa tions to ensure high -quality and purposeful services. Local governments feel uncertainty in
fulfilling the requirements of legal acts and need clearer regulation. Less experienced heads of local
governments interpret the relatively abstract delegation fram ework as a restriction to transferring
services. For that purpose, the Development Plan includes plans to develop practical guidance
materials (Measure 1, Activities 1, 2).
In addition, the Administrative Cooperation Act stipulates exceptions, under which non -profit
associations with local government interest are not obliged to comply with the procedure stipulated
in the Public Procurement Act when concluding administrative agreements. Thus, service providers
are often not selected on the basis of their pro fessional skills and service quality, but on the basis of
ease of selection. The implementation of the Development Plan includes plans to analyse the
relevant provision of the Administrative Cooperation Act and to present corresponding amendment
proposals (Measure 1, Activities 1.2).
The practices so far in the conclusion, fulfilment and supervision of contracts for the provision of
services have been diverse – different contract types have been used and the thoroughness of the
14 Concept: Directions of Contractual Delegation of Public Services to Non -profit Associations
https://www.siseministeerium.ee/public/Teen uste_deleeerimise_kontseptsioon_FIN.pdf

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contracts varies considerably . The assessment and supervision of results is generally limited to
reviewing the reports and cost documents of service providers, the satisfaction of target groups with
the services is assessed in very few cases and in nearly 1/3 of the cases no supervisi on of any kind
is performed. The preparation of thorough contracts and the performance of substantial supervision
would be significantly facilitated by guidance materials describing the process and results of
delegating public services (Measure 1, Activity 1.1) as well as minimum service standards and
service content descriptions (Measure 1, Activities 2 and 3).
The transfer of the provision of services and the implementation of other modern governance
principles largely depend on the beliefs, knowledge and attitudes of the heads of local governments
as well as on the awareness and willingness of citizens’ associations. Delegation allows increasing
the capabilities of local governments, but it requires their initiative and the creation of a favourable
enviro nment. Therefore, the specific requirements and needs of both parties will be taken into
account in the preparation of delegation related training modules as well as in the provision of
training and the development of a counselling system (Measure 2, Activ ities 1 and 2).
Citizens’ associations do not cooperate sufficiently with each other in providing public services,
although the synergy that would be created upon using each other’s strengths carries considerable
potential. New emerging cooperation, includ ing with local governments, would be facilitated by the
systematic concentration and availability of information about citizens’ associations and the
services they provide as well as by the organisation of area -specific seminars to disseminate the
best pra ctices and facilitate the establishment of mutual contacts (Measure 2, Activity 3).
Today, the development of long -term partnerships is obstructed by the currently common one -year
contract period for the delegation of public services, which is too short t o increase the stability and
quality of services and reduce the administrative burden of local governments. The development
and practical testing of delegation of services and the introduction of delegation as a form of
cooperation would be facilitated by the implementation of pilot projects and the establishment of
stable cooperation relationships would be facilitated by the conclusion of long -term contracts or
framework agreements, which would allow partners to plan activities in a long -term perspective
(Measure 2, Activity 5).
At the same time, the rather weak sustainability of citizens’ associations in providing services poses
a risk to both local governments and consumers of services, but local governments often tend not to
take steps to improve the su stainability of partners important for them. In order to ensure
sustainable partnerships in the provision of public services, it is therefore important to contribute to
the development of the skills of citizens’ associations also through ad hoc state fundi ng (Measure 3,
Activity 2).
Attention must also be paid to an important objective of delegation: the improvement of the
availability and quality of services, and therefore more efforts must be made to ask regular
feedback in order to determine the satisfac tion of the end -users of services and to link the feedback
to the assessment of the provision of services and to the improvement of service quality (Measure
4, Activity 1).

Objective
The provision of public services in cooperation between the public secto r and non -profit
associations is transparent, sustainable and in line with partnership principles, and citizens are
satisfied with the services.

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Explanation
State agencies and local governments recognise the role of citizens’ associations in the provisio n of
public services and in the development of the quality and availability of services. An increase in the
delegation capability of state agencies and local governments and the development of the service
provision skills of citizens’ associations ensure s ustainable cooperation in the provision of local
services. The delegation of services to citizens’ associations is harmonised, transparent and in line
with partnership principles and uniform systematic bases are applied upon delegation.

Measure 1: Facili tating the delegation of public services to citizens’ associations and
harmonising delegation practices
The measure is aimed at developing the expertise and capability of local governments and citizens’
associations in providing services at a higher qualit y and more efficiently as well as at harmonising
the current practices used in delegating the provision of services. For that purpose, guidance
materials addressing the different forms or cooperation and delegation will be prepared. The
guidance materials will take into account the specific features of different types of citizens’
associations and the related strengths and weaknesses in the delegation process.
In order to harmonise the content and quality of public services, minimum standards will be
prepa red for the more important services, on the basis of which institutions (including local
governments) have to find optimum solutions for ensuring the required level. The standards are in
turn supported by descriptions of the content of services prepared in cooperation between state
agencies, local governments, direct service providers, consumers and area experts. These
descriptions will cover both the recommended work process and the expected outcome,
contributing more flexibly to the constant development o f services and progress towards higher
quality.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– harmonisation of delegation practices: the number/proportion of local governments and state
agencies, which have established a procedure for delegating public services;
– proportion of state agencies and local governments applying minimum standards and/or
service content description in the provision of public services.

Measure 2: State and local government support to the contractual delegation of public
services to citizens’ associations and the development of the related capabilities
The development and implementation of a training module intended for the heads and officials of
local governments and the representatives of citizens’ associations plays an i mportant role in
increasing the capabilities of local governments and citizens’ associations and in supporting their
mutual partnership. In addition to the guidance materials described in the previous Measure,
training activities will also address the diff erent aspects of the role of citizens’ associations and
participation in the local governance context and the possibilities of encouraging that role, which
would facilitate the purposeful development of citizens’ associations as an extra resource of local
development capability and help provide local governments with the skills to activate civic
initiative and gradually improve the capabilities of the citizens’ associations providing public
services.
In order to increase awareness of delegation possibiliti es and ensure high -quality services at the
local level, it is important to organise regular seminars under the leadership of ministries for
introducing and disseminating the best practices and establishing contacts as well as to maintain

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contacts in concre te areas of responsibility both with the service providers and the competent
representatives of the target groups of services, in order to obtain information about the actual
implementation of the policy, i.e. the success in reaching the target groups. In order to ensure
continuous development, it is important to provide, with the assistance of county development
centres, delegation related counselling to local governments and (potential) service providers.
In order to disseminate information, increase ope nness and develop more stable cooperation
relationships, it is important to create a web environment for citizens’ associations interested in
providing public services and local governments interested in delegating public services, which
would enable the p arties to disseminate and find relevant information (guidance materials, samples,
seminars, training events etc) and to bring together service providers and local governments.
In the event of a lack of long -term partners, the implementation of pilot proje cts would facilitate the
development and practical testing of the delegation of services and the introduction of delegation as
a form of cooperation. The conclusion of programme -based long -term framework contracts and the
linking of these to development pl ans would help create and facilitate stable cooperation
relationships between local governments and their long -term partners in the provision of services.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– proportion of local governments delegating the provision of public services to non -profit
associations by areas and across the size classes of local governments;
– assessment given by non -profit associations providing services to partnership with local
governments. Satisfaction of local governments w ith non -profit associations providing
services.

Measure 3: Facilitating and supporting the development of citizens’ associations providing
services
In order to motivate the continuous self -development of citizens’ associations and to distinguish
and recog nise more expert service providers at the national or local level, a system for the
recognition of citizens’ associations will be created, based on accreditation, issuing of certificates of
conformity, registration or issuing of uniform letters of recommen dation by local governments,
professional associations or state agencies.
The development of citizens’ associations in specific areas would be facilitated by a more
systematic use of ad hoc state funding with the prospect of state agencies and local gover nments
being able to delegate more complex services, if necessary, and engage citizens’ associations in
area -specific development activities. In regards to state funding activities, ad hoc funding means
focussing both on the general sector -specific compete nces and the development of service provision
skills, as well as the purposeful and well -considered channelling of foreign aid resources into
increasing service provision skills, particularly in respect of higher -risk or sensitive target groups.
Indicator s for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– number/proportion of citizens’ associations providing public services;
– satisfaction of service users/clients with the services delegated to citizens’ associations;
– satisfaction of local governments with the qu ality of the delegated services.

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Measure 4: Taking into account the feedback received from citizens’ associations
organising the services and from service users
In order to ensure that the services provided meet the needs of the users in the best possible manner,
mechanisms will be created to facilitate taking into account the experience of service providers and
users in the further development of the services. Ensuring the high level of services in partnership
between citizens’ associations and the public sector requires more extensive focussing on obtaining
constant feedback from service users, and taking that feedback into account both in the preparation
of guidance materials and conducting training activities at the national level and the provision of
services on everyday basis at the local level.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– satisfaction of consumers of public services delegated to citizens’ associations and
frequency of asking feedback.

4. Involvement

Background and proble m description
Involvement and participation of citizens is not a stand -alone area, but is closely related to the
overall organisation of public administration, with the wider aim of ensuring the efficiency and
transparency of state governance and considera tion of public interests.
The development of involvement is integrally related to the capability of non -governmental
partners to participate in the development of policies and the preparation of state -level decisions as
well as with their leadership role i n involving their members. The issues of how to strengthen the
skills and possibilities of associations to have a say and represent their members are addressed in
chapter Operational capability and sustainability of citizens’ associations.
According to the assessment given by partners who have participated in policy development,
citizens’ associations increasingly sense their important role in finding the best solutions to
problems faced by the society and, more specifically, in improving the quality of leg al acts and
policy documents and the preparation thereof. The Development Plan is based on the belief that the
active interest of citizens and the citizens’ associations representing them towards state affairs is
welcome and the representatives of public a uthority can actively encourage it through involvement.
The Development Plan also emphasises the need to motivate the participation of public sector
employees as citizens in important debates and decision preparation processes.
So far, involvement activiti es in ministries have been carried out on the basis of unwritten rules and
agreements. Feedback from both the officials and the involved partners shows that the current
emphasis on soft measures (recommended good involvement practices, the introduction of these
good practices through training and written guidance materials) has not established a sufficiently
effective system. The efficient implementation of involvement requires clear legal and work
organisation related basis, which would link involvement ac tivities with the officials’ regular work
processes – the preparation of legal acts and area -specific development plans, establishment of
plans, assessment of impacts, development of terms and conditions for financing measures etc. In
determining the exten t of involvement, the social weight of the prepared decision has to be
considered – i.e. involvement is particularly needed in the case of policy documents of material
impact. For that purpose, involvement should be linked to the assessment of impact both in the case
of draft acts and development plans.

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State agencies have to reach mutual agreements as to which documents regulating the state work
processes need to be updated to include guidelines for the organisation of involvement (incl. rules
of legislati ve drafting, requirements for preparing area -specific development plans, financing
measures) (Measure 1, Activities 1 to 3). At the same time, the records of involvement activities so
far have to be analysed both in the case of development plans and draft acts, where the relevant
requirements have already been established, but are not properly complied with.
The organisation of involvement needs to be improved and instruction in the fulfilment of the
requirements arising both from the law and good practices needs to be provided both at the county
and local government levels, incl. in processing public plans and developing public services. The
Development Plan foresees activities to support the work of the consultants of county development
centres (Measure 1, Activity 5), who will then be able to provide counselling in the organisation of
involvement at local governments.
It is important to ensure the traceability of decision -making and involvement as a work process.
Until today, ministries have no obligation to disclose work plans (although several of them do that).
Information concerning the draft acts and policy documents currently in preparation is scattered and
difficult to find. That may also be the cause for the low usability of the current channels for
monitoring legislation and policy decisions – the participatory web and e -law ( e-õigus ). Neither of
these channels has as yet become the main source of information for the representatives of
stakeholders. The participatory web rather publishes a random sel ection of draft acts – for instance,
in 2009 public consultation was held in regards to 8% of the draft acts discussed at Government
sessions. E -law covers the final stage of the process, which constitutes inter -ministry approvals and
where it is too late for citizens’ associations to intervene.
However, the public should have access to information about what decisions are currently being
prepared and who and how participates in the preparation. This can be achieved through an
information system of the pro cessing of Government decisions – legal acts and policy documents –
which would link the participatory web and e -law environments. This Development Plan foresees
activities introducing the combined information system and providing instructions on its use
(Measure 2, Activity 6).
Assessment of the substantial quality of involvement has shown that the evaluations given to
involvement by partners and officials have become more similar. Nevertheless, there are no criteria
for assessing the quality of involveme nt. Involvement methods therefore need to be reviewed and
improved. In order to disseminate the best practices and know -how, training events will be
organised for various target groups and counselling will be provided to officials in organising
involvement . Guidelines for special cases of involvement will also be developed as necessary
(Measure 2, Activity 1).
Until now, it is unclear who and how should solve cases of unsuccessful involvement or complete
lack of involvement. The Development Plan contains a proposal to form an independent advisory
committee, which comprises representatives both from the public sector and citizens’ associations
(Measure 2, Activity 5). Such a self -regulating body would be able to advise on and assess the
efficiency of involvem ent processes and ensure that the expectation of the involving party and the
participants are in balance. The role of the committee and its possible placement at an existing body
will be analysed at the beginning of the implementation period of the Develop ment Plan.
Citizens’ awareness and motivation to participate in decision -making processes needs consistent
development. The promotion of active citizenship is addressed in the Civil education chapter of the

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Development Plan, while this chapter contains pla ns for targeted awareness -raising activities to
introduce possibilities of participation, including through e -involvement channels.

Objective
The input of non -governmental parties is taken into account in developing public sector decisions
and the parties are satisfied with the implementation of the involvement process.

Explanation
Involvement as the implementation of the principles of democracy and the actual ensuring of civil
rights is a part of political culture. The quality of political culture is inf luenced by the development
and strength of civil society. This Development Plan sees involvement as a practical tool for
promoting good administration and participatory democracy.

Measure 1: Improving the organisation of involvement at the state and local government
levels
In order to improve the application of good involvement practices, descriptions of work processes
will be updated for the development of both legislation and other decisions (including area -specific
development plans, financing measures, opinions etc). Clear guidelines will be established for
officials to follow in their work processes. Involvement activities will be planned on the basis of
annual work plans, complete with the allocation of the necessary resources (sufficient time, budget
and responsible persons). On the basis of clear work procedures and plans the public will have a
good overview of which decisions are currently being prepared and which stakeholders and
citizens’ associations are participating in the preparation. The orga nisation of involvement will be
monitored regularly, analysing legislative and strategic planning documents. The bases for
cooperation between ministries, county development centres and their partners will be established
more clearly. Cooperation between i nstitutions and sectors and joint development projects will be
supported.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– the organisation of involvement is linked to the work processes of institutions (work plans
reflect involvement activities in major legislative decisions).

Measure 2: Developing involvement practices
Involvement methods will be updated and introduced on a wider basis. That will improve the
quality of involvement processes; the best practices will receive recognition. Criteria fo r the
assessment of quality will be developed. Functions for counselling and assessing involvement
activities will be created or added to existing bodies.
Involving parties will be offered training and counselling as support in the planning and
implementat ion of particular cases of involvement. Different target groups will be offered diverse
possibilities of participation and citizens will be introduced channels, through which they can
submit proposals to public authorities.
Indicators for assessing the eff iciency of the measure:
– assessment given by citizens’ associations to their impact in policy development;
– awareness of officials of the best involvement practices;

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– increased awareness of associations and the population of e -participation possibilities.

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5. Charity and philanthropy

Background and problem description
By estimation, 280 million EEK worth of cash donations are made and three billion EEK worth of
volunteer work is done in Estonia every year. The role of charity is increasingly valued both in t he
appreciation of social capital and as a socio -economic contribution to the development of the
country, which is worthy of consideration also as a part of our gross domestic product.

Donating
In countries with advanced donating culture, regular donation s form a significant part of the income
basis of citizens’ associations and although the visibility of donating as a way of charity is relatively
high in the Estonian society, mainly thanks to extensive campaigns on TV and in outdoor media, we
still have a lot of room for development in the area of regular donations, not to even mention
philanthropy. The popularity and reliability of the area of donating have in recent years been
improved by various business sector initiatives, like Swedbank’s donating envi ronment, Foundation
Dharma sub -funds etc.
In one year, nearly a half of the Estonian population aged 15 -74 makes at least one donation
(EMOR 2009); the number of donators has remained stable in the past three years and the economic
crisis has not affected it. At the same time, there are less than ten charity -orientated organisations
with an established trademark in Estonia, who allocate millions of Estonian kroons for donations.
The proportion of donations is marginal in the income of the majority of citiz ens’ associations and
therefore the main challenge in the area is to develop the donating culture, in order to increase the
share of donators in the society as well as the amount and regularity of their donations.
Nearly three quarters of the population ha ve not shown any interest in or monitored the use of their
donations, but at the same time the sense of assurance that donations have fulfilled their purpose
has somewhat decreased (EMOR 2008). On one hand, the decrease of trust has been caused by
donation s-related scandals widely covered in the media (bankruptcy of organisations that have
collected donations) and confusions resulting from unclear principles (the use of donations to
purchase securities). On the other hand, the competition for the attention of donators has increased
between citizens’ associations, and they focus on emotion -based marketing activities instead of
their former results and achieved impact. Therefore, the task here is to increase the interest of the
public towards monitoring the us e of donations as well as the contribution of citizens’ associations
into information disclosure activities, which together with transparency will result in an increase of
trust and the more rapid development of donating culture.
This topic also includes t he need to analyse the legal environment of donating, including gathering
statistical data, which will be implemented in the framework of the chapter Operational capability
and sustainability of citizens’ associations. As important as the content and possi ble extension of
incentives is to increase the awareness of potential donators of the current support provided by the
taxation system to the promotion of donating culture and the more extensive use of incentives.

Volunteer activities
Volunteer activities are based on work done by people upon their own initiative, without receiving
financial remuneration for it. Nonetheless, the organisation of volunteer activities requires
resources and policies as well as strategies. The public sector, the third sector an d the business

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sector all have mutually complementing roles and possibilities in supporting and organising
volunteer activities.
The survey Participation in Volunteer Activities in Estonia 15 showed that in total, less than a half of
the Estonian population has acted as a volunteer either independently or under the leadership of
various organisations. At the same time, a large number of volunteers have not acknowledged
themselves as volunteers. The majority or 78% of all the volunteers are the so -called passi ve
volunteers, who take part in particular activities or undertakings on a one -time basis, but do not
initiate activities. Thus, volunteer work is done in Estonia, but awareness of it and the commitment
of participants are not very high.
The people’s satis faction with volunteering -related awareness and availability of information is
high on the general level (e.g. the benefits of volunteer activities for Estonia and the public), but
both volunteers and non -volunteers rate practical awareness as low (e.g. th e areas, places and
organisations where people can act as volunteers). Awareness -raising will be aimed at introducing
the principles and possibilities of volunteer activities as well as at offering concrete activities and
thereby recruiting new volunteers (Measure 3, Activities 3 and 4 and Measure 4, Activity 2).
The majority of people are of the opinion that volunteer activities are important and necessary from
the viewpoint of the development of both the society and the individuals (78%), but fewer people
find that the public authorities value volunteer work (38%). Therefore, more systematic work must
be done at the state level to develop volunteer activities, publishing the progress and developments
in the area and continuing the regular recognition of vo lunteer work (Measure 3, Activity 2 and
Measure 4, Activity 1). Regular surveys concerning volunteer activities will be continued and
organisations working with volunteers need separate attention. It is important to focus on their
capabilities, experience and motivation as well as aspects needing external support (Measure 3,
Activity 1).
Over the past five years, the involvement of volunteers in associations has grown considerably 16.
Motivating and retaining active volunteers is largely accomplished through increasing the
capabilities of organisations, some of the activities necessary for which are addressed in the
chapter Operational capability and sustainability of citizens’ associations (e.g. legislation, training
and mentoring programmes for association s).
The involvement of volunteers in the activities of citizens’ associations is supported and promoted
on the national and cross -sectoral basis mainly by the Ministry of the Interior and the Volunteer
Activity Development Centre. In September 2010, five c ounty centres coordinating volunteer
activities were launched with support from the National Foundation of Civil Society and it is
important to ensure their sustainability in cooperation between the Government, local governments
and the leader organisation s of the centres also after the end of the projects in May 2011. In
addition, several ministries and citizens’ associations coordinate volunteer activities in their areas.
2011 is the European Year of Volunteering, which in Estonia is coordinated by the Mi nistry of the
Interior. The activities planned in the framework of the European Year of Volunteering are, above
all, aimed at increasing the general awareness of volunteering, its values and possibilities to act as a
volunteer as well as at strengthening t he capability of associations to involve volunteers. Several
15 Participation in Volunteer Activities in Estonia, EMOR, Praxis, Kristina Mänd, Jon Ender
https://www.siseministeerium.ee/public/VTosalemine 2009.pdf 16 Report on the survey of the Civil Society Research and Development Centre of Tallinn University:
Institutionalisation of Civic initiative in Estonia 2009/2010,
https://www.siseministeerium.ee/public/KUAK2010_institutsionaliseerumine.pdf

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activities initiated and launched in the framework of the European Year of Volunteering have been
integrated as pilot projects in the implementation plan.

Objective
Donations are made in a well -considered manner, regularly and in increasing amounts. Volunteer
activities are favoured, recognised and valued in the society and volunteers are efficiently involved
and coordinated in the activities of citizens’ associations .

Explanation
The positive impact of donations on the development of civil society will be increased by the well –
considered nature (ensures effectiveness) and regularity (ensures stability) as well as transparency
of use of donations (ensures efficiency). Improving the organisation of the legislative environment,
including the extension or further development of tax incentives and informing the public about the
incentives will help increase the popularity of donating among both private and legal persons.
Improving the gathering of st atistical data will help monitor the trends of donating culture more
closely and assess the impact of legislative amendments more objectively. The development and
implementation of good practices will increase the awareness of donators of the impact of the ir
donations on the society as well as the transparency, efficiency and impact of citizens’ associations
in using the donations. Good practices will become standard procedure the faster the more donators
demand compliance with good practices from the citiz ens’ associations funded by them.
Volunteer activities play an important role in strengthening civil society and democracy, as well as a
measurable economic value, which means economy of public resources. Volunteers participate in
local and social developm ent activities; volunteering creates social capital and cohesion, supports
the development of people and has a positive effect on their health. As a result of efficient
awareness -raising and valuing and recognising volunteer activities, new people will be introduced
to volunteering, the proportion of active and long -term volunteers will grow and the quality,
efficiency and effectiveness of volunteer activities will be increased.

Measure 1: Improving the organisation of the donating environment
The legislat ive environment encourages making donations to citizens’ associations complying with
good practices. The gathered statistical data will allow monitoring and analysing the trends in
donating activities.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measur e:
– applicability and clarity of the legislative framework for donating;
– donating trend on the basis of the number of organisations declaring the receipt of
donations.

Measure 2: Developing and disseminating good donating practices
In order to ensure the t ransparency and effectiveness of the use of donations, good practices for
collecting and using donations will be developed for citizens’ associations and donators. The parties
financing the civil society (including public authorities) will contribute to th e acknowledgement of
the good practices, demanding the application of these practices from the citizens’ associations they
finance. Donators will choose the ones they support on the basis of how successfully the latter

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comply with the principles of good pr actices. The regularity and total volume of donations will
grow.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– proportion of donators of the population;
– total volume of donations;
– number of citizens’ associations complying with the good practices for collecting donations.

Measure 3: Supporting and promoting the involvement and coordination of volunteers in
citizens’ associations
The decisions related to supporting and promoting volunteer activities will be based on the
information received from s urveys and statistical data. The values, including financial values,
created through volunteer activities will be assessed, which allows taking them into account as co –
financing in projects. An improved basis will be created for citizens’ associations to c over their
expenses related to involving volunteers. Programmes aimed at state employees and companies will
help citizens’ associations to involve more volunteers, bring them into contact with providers of
professional services and provide information abou t volunteering possibilities and the values
created through volunteer activities.
Indicators for assessing the efficiency of the measure:
– proportion of people who have participated in volunteer activities arranged by organisations
(passive volunteers / act ive volunteers);
– proportion of active volunteers of all the volunteers.

Measure 4: Raising awareness and popularity of volunteer activities. Information about
possibilities of volunteering in citizens’ associations is available
Recognition encourages and motivates people to start or continue volunteer activities and gives
volunteers and the citizens’ associations involving them feedback about the importance of their
activities in the society. In disseminating information, emphasis is placed on the high val ue of
volunteer activities, encouraging people to act as volunteers. People know why they engage in
volunteering and where and how they can do it. In order to efficiently use the people who wish to
act as volunteers, it is of primary importance to give the m actual possibilities for volunteering,
providing information about citizens’ associations involving volunteers on an ongoing basis and
mediating concrete advertisements for volunteer activities in citizens’ associations.
Indicators for assessing the effi ciency of the measure:
– amount, diversity and availability of information about possibilities of acting as a volunteer
in non -profit associations (the monthly number of visitors to the Volunteer Gateway
(Vabatahtlike Värav ) site / the monthly number of acti ve advertisements);
– clarity and availability of information about the social value and role of volunteer activities
to citizens’ associations, volunteers and supporters of volunteer activities.

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6. Cost forecast
The implementation plan of the Development P lan contains an initial forecast of the cost of the
activities. The forecast has been prepared in cooperation with the relevant ministries and is based
on the costs of similar measures and activities in the practical implementation of the Development
Plan for Supporting Civic initiative for 2007 -2010. The detailed financing plan will be approved
together with the annual state budget.
The implementation of the activities foreseen in the implementation plan of the Development Plan
will be financed from the b udgets of the ministries and the State Chancellery and from the
European Social Fund (programme for supporting the county support structures for citizens’
associations; programme for improving the organisation of state funding for citizens’ associations)
and from the Swiss Fund for Non -governmental Organisations.
The total cost of the Development Plan is ca 16.256 million EUR (Table 1), of which ca 3.493
million EUR is planned for the budget of 2011, ca 4.216 million EUR for 2012 and ca 8.547 million
EUR f or 2013 -2014.

Table 1: Cost forecast of the Civil Society Development Plan 2011 -2014
2011
million EUR
2012
million EUR
2013 -2014
million EUR
Ministry of the Interior budget 3.451 4.174 8.489
Local Government and Regional
Administration Department r e-
sources
0.126 0.164 0.292
National Foundation of Civil Society 1.189 1.598 3.515
Local own initiative programme 1.157 1.157 2.314
ESF Rural Development Programme 0.633 0.699 1.504
ESF programme for improving the
organisation of state funding for ci ti-
zens’ associations
0.05R 0.05N
Swiss Fund for Non Jgovernmental
Organisations
0.28R 0.50R 0.864
European Commission’s support for
conducting the activities of the
European Year of Volunteering
0.00S
State Chancellery budget 0.042 0.042 0.058
TOTAL 3.493 4.216 8.547

7. Implementation and coordination of the Development Plan
The coordination and implementation of the Civil Society Development Plan is the responsibility of
the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, the activities of the Developme nt Plan will be implemented
by the State Chancellery and other ministries. The development and implementation of the civil

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society policy is horizontal and therefore the success of the civil society policy largely depends on
the ministries’ willingness to define the inter -agency common interests and assume responsibility
for the implementation of the cooperation policy. The Development Plan avoids duplicating the
activities of individual parties. Besides state agencies, activities in the framework of the
De velopment Plan will be implemented also by local government units, citizens’ associations and
the business sector.
The Ministry of the Interior will coordinate activities, initiate matters related to the supplementation
and amendment of the Development Pla n and monitor and assess the implementation of the
Development Plan in accordance with the established objectives. During the process of preparation
of the state fiscal strategy and the state budget, the involved ministries and institutions will inform
the Ministry of the Interior of the activities supporting civic initiative planned in their area of
government for the following period and budgetary year, which will give the Ministry of the
Interior input for making specifications in the implementation plan .
After the approval of an area -specific development plan by an order of the Government of the
Republic, a work group to direct the implementation of the development plan, and to provide
feedback and monitor the implementation will be formed for the implem entation of the Civil
Society Development Plan. The work group for the implementation of the Civil Society
Development Plan will be led by the head of civil society area of the Ministry of the Interior and
the members include the representatives of the min istries responsible for the implementation of the
measures and activities as well as the partners implementing the activities. The Civil Society
Development Plan work group will report on the results of its work to the joint committee of the
Government of the Republic and the representatives of citizens’ associations. The main objective of
the activities of that work group is to launch and develop a system for the preparation,
implementation and assessment of implementation of the Estonian Civil Society Dev elopment
Concept.
Other important parties in the implementation of the Development Plan are Enterprise Estonia and
the National Foundation of Civil Society. The third sector consultants working in the network of
county development centres coordinated by En terprise Estonia offer free information and
counselling services as well as training and development activities to citizens’ associations in all the
counties.
The objective of the National Foundation of Civil Society is to improve the capabilities of the
Estonian citizens’ associations acting in the interests of public interests in developing the civil
society and in shaping an environment encouraging active citizenship through the financing of
organisations, innovative ideas and activities.
The Developmen t Plan as the Government’s guideline document does not assign direct obligations
on local governments, the business sector or the third sector, but it creates – through third party
activities – a favourable environment and possibilities for the sustainable development of civil
society and the entire third sector. As the majority of citizens’ associations operate namely at the
local level, the implementation plan of the Development Plan proposes various activities to help
promote the cooperation between loca l governments and citizens’ associations and increase the role
and weight of the civil society.
The implementation plan of the Development Plan has been prepared for 2011 -2014. In June 2013,
the Ministry of the Interior will present to the Government of t he Republic a report on the
achievement of the objectives and efficiency of the measures established in the Development Plan

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and the implementation plan in 2011 -2012. For that purpose, the Ministry of the Interior will ask
the opinion and assessment of the other ministries related to the Development Plan on the
conformity of the activities implemented with the objectives established in the Development Plan.
By November 2012 at the latest, the Ministry of the Interior will present an updated implementation
plan for 2013 -2014 to the Government of the Republic.

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8. Important terms and definitions used

Acting in public interests – acting in the name of common benefits, which are not used for private
consumption, but are available to everyone, like nature, se curity, culture etc; or activities for the
benefit of a more narrowly defined group, if that group is at a disadvantage compared to the rest of
the society;
Public authorities – a system of state bodies exercising the power of the state in the territory of a
country: legislative and enforcement authorities and bodies of law enforcement and maintenance of
law and order;
Contractual transfer of public services – a situation where a public authority transfers the
provision of public services to a citizens’ ass ociation, maintaining control and responsibility for the
provision of the services;
Advocacy ( also the protection of interests) – the protection of the interests and values of the
members of citizens’ associations and other people included in the specific target group in
communication with public authorities, the business sector and the public opinion;
Advocate organisation – a citizens’ association performing the protection of interests; it can be a
union of area -specific or regional organisations (umbrel la organisation, network) or an association
with private person members;
Philanthropy – knowingly planned systematic donating or volunteering in order to improve the
welfare of other people;
Charity – generally involves one -time donations or volunteering i n order to improve the welfare of
other people;
Involvement – activity performed by public authorities with the aim to give the citizens or the
associations representing them the possibility to participate in the preparation of decisions
concerning them, i ncluding in the area of legislation;
Umbrella organisation – an association of legal persons acting in public interests based on area –
specific or region -specific membership;
Citizen – every member of the society; includes citizens of other countries and p ersons without
citizenship;
Citizens’ association (also non -governmental association) – an organisation founded by private
individuals (not public authorities or legal persons) for non -profit purposes (in the context of the
Development Plan, mainly a non -profit association or foundation acting in public interests) or an
association of such organisations.
Civil education – the skills, knowledge and values supporting a citizen’s active and responsible
participation in social life, contributing to the creation of the possibilities, will and competences
necessary for that;
Community services – services provided by citizens’ associations or companies operating in rural
or city communities, aimed at local development and the creation of jobs, usually in a situatio n

34

where market regulation does not work. These services vary by area of activity, from entertainment
to social services, management of joint communications, agricultural production, tourism etc;
Project grant – funding provided to citizens’ associations f or the (generally) one -time
implementation of projects. Project grants are allocated on the basis of open application rounds;
Social entrepreneurship – as a rule, economic activities of citizens’ associations with the objective
to solve a social problem th rough entrepreneurship; companies may be partners to citizens’
associations in social entrepreneurship;
Activity support – a method of financing citizens’ associations from the state budget, with the aim
to ensure the sustainability and management of the o rganisations important from the viewpoint of
achieving the objectives established in the area; generally intended for covering overhead and
salary expenses;
Support services – training, awareness -raising and counselling services offered to citizens’
associ ations; provided in Estonia by, for instance, county development centres and sometimes by
umbrella organisations to their members or in their networks;
Volunteer activities ( also volunteering) – offering one’s own time, energy or skills of one’s own
free w ill and without receiving financial remuneration. Volunteers help others or act mainly in
public interests or for the benefit of the society. Helping the members of one’s own family and
donations of cash or objects are not considered as volunteer activitie s. Volunteer activities may be
based on own initiative or independent, or participation in activities initiated and implemented by
an organisation;
Government institutions – institutions financed from the state budget, the main task of which is to
exercise the enforcement powers of the state; also includes the state agencies administrated by these
government institutions.

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9. Connections with other strategic documents and area -specific
development plans

At the European Union level, the area of civil society is regulated by the following documents:

White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue 17
Recommendations (2001) 19 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on participation of
citizens in local public life 18
Green Paper – The Future of Demo cracy in Europe 19
A Compendium of Good Practice in Human Rights Education 20
Public Participation in Internet Governance 21
Recommendations in local and regional democracy 22
Treatises in local and regional democracy 23
Legal Framework of Civil Society 24
A Stre ngthened Commitment to Equality between Men and Women: A Women’s Charter 25

Of the national strategy documents, the Development Plan is, above all, linked to the following
strategic documents and development plans:
Estonian Civil Society Development Concept (Resolution of the Riigikogu of 12 December
2002), pursuant to which the representatives of citizens’ associations and public authorities base
their work on the following principles and values: active citizenship, participation, respect,
partnership, resp onsibility and accountability, political independence of civic initiatives, prevention
of corruption, sustainable and balanced development and equal treatment.
Government Programme for 2007 -2011, pursuant to which the government coalition deems the
strengt hening of the civil society to be of primary importance in the development of the country,
considers citizens’ associations its partners in advancing life in Estonia and holds an active dialogue
with citizens’ association operating at the state level. For demographic reasons, Estonia cannot
afford increasing the state apparatus. The Estonian state has to become stronger not through the
establishment of new institutions and the employment of new officials, but through involving
citizens and citizens’ associa tions in state governance and through a wider implementation of new
technologies.
Strategy of Using National Structural Funds for 2007 –2013, the administrative capability
direction of activity of which also contributes to the development of citizens’ assoc iations.
Estonian Adult Education Development Plan for 2009 -2013 , the objective of which is to develop
a system of life -long learning that would ensure diverse, alternative and supportive learning
17 https://www.coe.ee/?arc=&op=body&LaID=1&id=129&art=646&setlang=est 18 https://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc01/EDOC9265.htm 19 htt p://www.coe.int/t/dgap/democracy/activities/key -texts/02_Green_Paper/ 20
https://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/edc/1_What_is_EDC_HRE/ge neral_announcement2_2oct09_en.asp#TopOfPage 21
https://www.coe.int/t/dgap/democracy/Activities/GGIS/Public_participati on_internet_governance/Default_en.a
sp#TopOfPage 22 https://www.coe.int/t/dgap/localdemocracy/WCD/CS_Recommendations_en.asp# 23 https://www.coe.int/t/dgap/localdemocracy/WCD/CS_Conventions_en.asp# 24 https://www.coe.int/T/E/Legal_Affairs/Legal_co -operation /Civil_society 25 https://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010 -2014/president/news/documents/pdf/20100305_1_en.pdf

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possibilities for adults, which can be implemented in coop eration with various parties and which
would improve the people’s opportunities to obtain an education or qualification higher by at least
one level.
Youth Work Strategy for 2006 -2013 ( Order No 380 of the Government of 7 July 2006) contains
the bases for a chieving the youth policy objectives and planning the relevant financing in
cooperation between the state, the local governments and the third sector.
Anti -corruption Strategy for 2008 -2012 ( Order No 164 of the Government of 3 April 2008). In
the third sec tor, the risk of corruption is primarily related to the relationships between non -profit
associations and public authorities. There is a risk of corruption when the procedure established for
the public duties transferred to non -profit associations in not c lear and uniform. For instance, there
is not enough information about relationships between local governments and local non -profit
associations and the terms and condition on which local governments provide funding.
Estonian National Strategy of Sustainab le Development ‘Sustainable Estonia 21’ (approved by
the Riigikogu on 14 September 2005), one of the objectives of which is a cohesive society
characterised by strong civil society taking part as an equal partner in the development of political
decisions a nd the provisions of various (socially orientated) services.
Estonian Integration Plan for 2008 -2013 (Order No 172 of the Government of 10 April 2008),
pursuant to which integration is a process engaging the entire society, shaped by the activities of
citi zens’ associations, local governments bodies and state agencies in the development of a
favourable legal, economic, social and mental environment.
Ida -Virumaa Activity Plan 2010 -2014 (Resolution of the cabinet meeting of the Government of
10 September 2010 ) is aimed at ensuring the development of civil society in Ida -Virumaa County,
including taking into account the language -based aspects.
Updated Estonian Information Society Development Plan 2013 ( Order No 327 of the
Government of 30 July 2009)
Developin g a portal for citizens, entrepreneurs and officials and linking that portal to the necessary
services: all the services created in the public sector are available to citizens via a citizens’ portal.
Expanding the possibilities of taking part in the decisi on -making processes of the state
(eDemocracy)
National Health Plan 2009 -2020 (Order No 325 of the Government of 17 July 2008), the priorities
of which are based on solidarity among people, equal opportunities and justice, access to high –
quality healthcare services and the empowerment of civil society. Healthy and socially active
citizens are the basis for the development of a country.
Estonian Rural Development Plan 2007 -2013 (Order No 81 of the Government of 12 February
2007 ), the objective of measure 3.2 of which (investment support for the renovation and
development of villages) is, among other things, to improve the attractiveness and life quality of
rural areas through increasing local activity and developing the non -profit sector.

The list is not exh austive, as many other national strategy documents and development plans
contribute, directly or indirectly, to the development of civil society.

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