Public Services by NGOs (LT0027)

4. Develop a model for transferring public services to NGOs and communities and encouraging its implementation.
1 December 2018 – 31 December 2019
Lead implementing agency Ministry of Social Security and Labour
Commitment description
Status quo or problem addressed by the commitment According to the current public service delivery model, practically all public services are provided by state or municipal institutions or bodies. This is often not what the users want as they are often inefficient and uneconomical, and the users are often devoid of the possibility to impact the quality of services provided. Such a public service model does not contribute to the promotion of civic awareness and the strengthening of communities, i.e. citizens are not involved in decision-making as regards services and their better quality, despite the fact that these decisions have a significant impact on the quality of their own life and the environment.
Currently, only a small number of municipalities have transferred to NGOs and communities a small proportion of public services, although the National Progress Programme provides for 15 per cent share of services to be transferred by municipalities to NGOs and communities by 2020.
Problem solution/Commitment Develop a model for transferring public services to NGOs and communities and encourage its implementation.
Main objective Encouraging the transfer of public services to NGOs and communities with a view to increasing the transfer of public services to 5-10 per cent share.
How will the commitment contribute to solve the problem? The model for transferring public services will ensure greater public engagement in decision-making processes, encourage NGOs and communities to play a more active role in addressing problems relevant to their immediate environment, and help public authorities to properly prepare and ensure a smooth transfer of public services and increase the efficiency of public service delivery.
Action and its description Expected concrete result Start date: End date:
1. Identification of problematic areas and analysis of best practices Compilation and analysis of information on problems encountered in transferring public services to NGOs and communities and summary of best practices in this field 01/12/2018 01/03/2019
2. Development of a model and recommendations for state and municipal institutions Methodological document, 1 pcs. 01/03/2019 31/08/2019
3. Training for representatives of state and municipal institutions, NGOs and communities Training, 5 pcs. 01/09/2019 31/10/2019
4. Evaluation of completed actions, monitoring of indicators Analysis completed, 1 pcs 01/11/2019 31/12/2019
How is the commitment relevant to the values of transparency, accountability and civic participation? The commitment is relevant to the value of public participation, as the mechanism developed will encourage people to get closer involved in decision making regarding problems faced in their environment.
Additional information The commitment is part of the Plan for the implementation of the Programme of the 17th Government.
Contact information
Lead implementing agency Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania
Name, title, department, email and telephone number of the responsible person , Aurelija Olendraitė,
Chief Adviser for NGOs and Communities,
email: aurelija.olendraite@socmin.lt,
tel.: 8 70668 248
Other ministries, departments/agencies involved Ministry of the Interior
What civil society organisations, private sector representatives or other stakeholders are you planning to involve in the implementation of the commitment? Do you plan to conduct a public consultation during the implementation of the commitment? The commitment involves NGOs, the NGO Council and other stakeholders (Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania).

4. Develop a model for transferring public services to NGOs and communities and encouraging its implementation

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

According to the current public service delivery model, practically all public services are provided by state or municipal institutions or bodies. This is often not what the users want as they are often inefficient and uneconomical, and the users are often devoid of the possibility to impact the quality of services provided. Such a public service model does not contribute to the promotion of civic awareness and the strengthening of communities, i.e. citizens are not involved in decision-making as regards services and their better quality, despite the fact that these decisions have a significant impact on the quality of their own life and the environment. Currently, only a small number of municipalities have transferred to NGOs and communities a small proportion of public services, although the National Progress Programme provides for 15 per cent share of services to be transferred by municipalities to NGOs and communities by 2020. [22]

Milestones:  

4.1. Compilation and analysis of information on problems encountered in transferring public services to NGOs and communities and summary of best practices in this field

4.2. Development of a model and recommendations for state and municipal institutions

4.3. Training for representatives of state and municipal institutions, NGOs and communities

4.4. Evaluation of completed actions, monitoring of indicators

Start Date: 30 June 2018

End Date: 15 June 2020

Context and Objectives

Ten percent of Lithuanian citizens express dissatisfaction with public services, emphasizing poor quality and long waiting times. [23] Also, it is common for citizens to doubt if they could get high-quality services without paying bribes or using other unofficial methods to expedite procedures. Twenty-one percent of public officials say that it is common to use their network of acquaintances to get better public services. [24] Also, 46 percent of citizens admitted to using connections to ensure they got a better quality of public services. [25]

The Ministry of Social Security and Labor has noticed that citizens are disappointed with public services, which, the ministry notes, are often inefficient and uneconomical. [26] To solve this issue, the ministry aims to change the current model by letting nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and communities—rather than public-sector institutions—provide 5–10 percent of services to residents. This goal is also set in the National Progress Program. [27]

It is laudable that the ministry is willing to pilot a model to improve services. However, this commitment’s potential impact is minor. It is not clear how the model itself could make the shift. It is also not evident how getting services from NGOs and communities would actually solve the problem of low-quality, inefficient services, especially when the NGO sector in Lithuania is not strong and lacks capacity and skills (as noted in the second commitment). Some working group members raised those same concerns. They doubted whether NGOs were the ones to ensure a higher quality of public services. [28]

This commitment assumes that the possibility to provide public service would somehow encourage citizens to participate in public matters, especially in the regions. However, there is no information suggesting that people or NGOs would become more active because of this. According to the latest survey, carried out by Vilmorus, a center for public opinion and market research, 50 percent of Lithuanian residents have not participated in voluntarily activities and are not planning to do so in the near future. [29]

Next steps

While this commitment raised a relevant issue about the quality of public services, the proposed solutions are questionable. Citizens are mostly dissatisfied about the fact they have to pay a bribe or know an insider to get high-quality service. “High quality” includes polite communication with a service provider and proportionate waiting times. The IRM researcher recommends considering anti-corruption measures that the Ministry of Social Security and Labor can use to solve the issue. Also, specific measures to decrease waiting times might be a solution worth focusing on to increase the quality of public services.

4. Transfer public services to NGOs and communities

Completion: Limited

This commitment aimed to address inefficiencies in the delivery of public services by creating a model for NGOs and communities (rather than public sector institutions) to provide 5–10 percent of services to residents. By the end of the action plan, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour created a model to finance day-care centers to ensure that such centers have constant financial flow and thus avoid annually applying for project funding. According to a senior advisor at the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, the ministry developed a model only for day-care centers because the government still had not implemented the recommendations of the National Audit Office to inventory public services and evaluate their quality. [37] With no knowledge of the quality of public services and no inventory, the ministry could not include other public services in its model.