ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Civil society card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 16 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaPeople & belonging
  • Centre of gravityThe municipality
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionKommunvalet
People & belonging

Civil society

NGOs & foundations acting for the common good

The sports club, the choir, the village association and the foundation: civil society is all the organised life that is neither state nor market. Forming an association requires no permit at all, it is part of the freedom of association in the constitution. But the money, the premises and the rules of the game are shaped to a large degree by the municipal hall and central government.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · grants, premises & cooperation · approx 45 %
  • Region · support for study associations & culture · approx 10 %
  • State · laws, tax rules & central grants · approx 40 %
  • EU · funds & programmes · approx 5 %

Associations govern themselves, but of the public power most lies with the municipality (kommun): grants, premises and facilities. The municipal election decides the most.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe support close to you · centre of gravity
The regionThe regional support
Central governmentThe framework & the money
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) and the leisure, culture and social affairs committees.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and the culture committee.
The Riksdag, the Government, MUCF, the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) and the County Administrative Boards (Länsstyrelserna).
What do they decide?
Grants to associations, subsidised premises and sports facilities, cooperation agreements with the association sector.
Grants to study associations, district organisations and regional culture, often through the cultural cooperation model.
The freedom of association in the constitution, tax rules for the non-profit sector, central government grants through MUCF and other agencies, supervision of foundations.
Where are decisions made?
In the committees' grant rules and the council's budget. The rules are public.
In the region's cultural plan and budget.
In the Riksdag and at the agencies. MUCF allocates support according to fixed conditions.
Who pays?
The municipal tax: activity grants, premises subsidies and facilities.
The regional tax, often together with central government cultural funds.
The central government budget: organisation grants, project grants and tax reliefs.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Apply for an association grant, raise a proposal about premises, contact the committee's politicians.
Regional election Views when the region's cultural plan is drawn up, through the district organisations.
General election The general election shapes the conditions. Associations respond to referrals (remiss) through their national organisations.
EUEU funds such as the Social Fund support projects in the association sector, and EU rules affect, among other things, data protection in membership records. Shaped in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case An association is formed and applies for a grant
  1. State

    Freedom of association is the foundation

    The constitution protects the right to join together in associations without a permit. No agency registers or approves a non-profit association: it exists once it has statutes and a board.

  2. State

    The Tax Agency gives a number

    At a founding meeting, statutes are adopted and a board is elected. The association then applies for an organisation number from the Tax Agency, which is needed for a bank account and grants.

  3. Municipality

    The association applies for a municipal grant

    The leisure committee or its equivalent assesses the application against the municipality's grant rules: activity grants, premises grants, sometimes a start-up grant. The rules are decided by the politicians and differ in every municipality.

    Point of influence

    The grant rules are politics. The municipal election and direct contact with the committee influence them, and many municipalities have an association council that is consulted.

  4. RegionState

    Larger support for those who grow

    District federations can apply for regional support, and national organisations apply for central government grants from MUCF or their sector agency. The conditions require a democratic structure and open accounting.

    Point of influence

    Central government grants are applied for in open calls with fixed dates. The conditions are on MUCF's website.

  5. Municipality

    The premises and the pitch

    The association needs somewhere to be: a subsidised school room, a pitch with training times or a meeting hall. The allocation of times and premises is a municipal decision that often stirs debate.

    Point of influence

    Times and fees are decided in committee. The allocation can be questioned: write to the committee or go through the association council.

  6. Your everyday life

    Wednesday evening in the hall

    Six o'clock in the gym: twenty children, two volunteer leaders and an activity grant that covers the rent. Civil society is carried by volunteer time, but the playing field was built by public decisions.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which association has meant the most in your life, and what would have happened without it?

  2. How much should the municipality steer what associations do through its grant conditions?

  3. What should be required of an association for it to receive public money?

  4. Which groups in your municipality lack a strong association voice today?

  5. Should voluntary engagement be able to replace public welfare, or only complement it?

Glossary

Ideell förening
A non-profit association. Requires no registration, only statutes and a board.
Stadgar
The association's own basic rules: name, purpose and how meetings and elections are run.
Konstituerande möte
The first meeting, where the statutes are adopted and the first board is elected.
Aktivitetsstöd
A grant per completed activity, most common in sport, from the municipality and central government.
Stiftelse
An endowment managed for a fixed purpose, registered and supervised by the County Administrative Board.
MUCF
The Agency for Youth and Civil Society, which allocates central government grants to organisations.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.