Civic Poll 2023

Political Capital and Civilisation Coalition have published a joint study on the public perception of civil society organisations (CSOs) for the third time.

Increasingly aware of and supportive of NGOs

This year, 44% of Hungarians reported that they or a relative or acquaintance had personally received help from a civil society organisation, compared to 16% two years ago, according to the third survey on attitudes towards civil society organisations conducted by Civilisation and Political Capital, after 2019 and 2021. The progress is also impressive in that the proportion of people who support CSOs has increased significantly since 2021, whether they donate one per cent of their personal income tax, donate non-monetary (material) donations or volunteer their time. Research report.

Growing awareness

Almost one in two people (49%) can now successfully name a CSO. As in previous surveys, the Hungarian Red Cross and the Hungarian Maltese Relief Service were the most frequently spontaneously mentioned NGOs, followed by Bátor Tábor, the Hungarian Children's Rescue Foundation, Greenpeace and the Ecumenical Aid Organisation.

Among the demographic characteristics, there is a notable difference in terms of educational attainment, with those with tertiary education being the most likely to name a specific organisation (66%). This proportion was 51% for those with secondary education and 42% for those who had not continued their education after primary school. The most colourful picture emerges from the organisations mentioned by urban residents, who named 69 different CSOs, compared to between 41 and 48 in the other groups.

22% of respondents - also an increase compared to 2021 - could not name a specific organisation but could recall their activities. The most common of these were animal welfare organisations, shelters and foundations helping children in need (sick, starving) and their parents.

What should CSOs do?

Among the activities of civil society organisations, the most important was to help and support social groups in need. This is followed by the expectation that NGOs should provide opportunities for active citizens who want to do something for the common good. As in the two previous surveys, there is a difference between the perception of public activities and social activities perceived as "non-political", and although somewhat less so, public activities are still considered important civic activities overall.

We also wanted to know to what extent they think it is appropriate for NGOs to criticise the government and state bodies (i.e. to draw attention to the shortcomings of state bodies and the government). The vast majority of respondents, 70%, consider it important to criticise, while only 30% think it is not the job of NGOs. Even among them, government party supporters are the most doubtful about the legitimacy of criticism, but even in this group, the minority opinion is still in favour: 53% in favour and 47% against. Supporters of the major opposition parties, including DK and Momentum, are more likely than average to support this type of stance.

Mutual assistance

32% of the respondents could recall a contact in the previous three years that was initiated by a CSO or one of its representatives. This is a significant improvement compared to the previous survey, indicating that CSOs have been able to reach a larger part of the population. 44% of the survey respondents reported receiving CSO assistance personally or from a relative or friend. This is a significantly higher proportion than the 16% two years ago. The fact that the three years covered by the survey were marked by multiple crises certainly played a role in this increase. The pandemic, the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the inflation crisis have all created and maintained a situation in which NGOs have had a major role to play as helpers of vulnerable social groups.

The proportion of people who support CSOs has increased significantly compared to two years ago: from 20 to 26 percent of those who donate one percent of their personal income tax, from 5 to 14 percent of those who donate non-financial support, and from 3 to 8 percent of those who help with voluntary work. This may have been helped by the fact that the lifting of restrictions due to the pandemic made it easier to participate in person. Recent crises may have played a role in the rise in willingness to help, with 22% of donors supporting refugees fleeing war through the CSOs that helped them.

What social groups and causes do we (not) support?

Health, environment and education are the three social issues that respondents would most support. Consumer protection and science and technology are at the bottom of the list. However, strong societal prejudice against minority groups also affects people's willingness to support CSOs working with them, with organisations working with prisoners and LGBT communities the least likely to be supported. Although the extremes have converged, and the willingness to support has improved for several disadvantaged groups, while those at the top of the list have typically declined, the order of the rankings is essentially unchanged from two years ago, and these attitudes are deeply rooted in society.

We also tried to identify the most common barriers to support for CSOs. The three most frequently cited (almost equally) were (1) lack of material resources (money), (2) lack of knowledge of the right CSO, and (3) underestimation of the substantive impact of the assistance. These three factors were also the most common explanations in the previous two surveys, but the significant differences between the scores in the past have now essentially levelled out. It is also good news that, compared to previous surveys, the number of non-helpers has narrowed significantly this year to 19% of the total sample, compared to 64% previously.

Political orientation is associated with the willingness to support certain groups. While supporters of Mi Hazánk are less likely to support CSOs working with homeless or LGBT groups, Momentum voters are the most open to doing so. (In our survey sample two years ago, the number of Mi Hazánk voters was too small to test this relationship. Then, Fidesz voters proved to be the most rejecting towards LGBT groups and refugees.)

Methodology

Most of the questions in the representative, face-to-face survey were also included in the previous two surveys, so (due to the similarity of the data collection methodology) it is possible to examine changes over time, but based on previous experience we have modified or omitted some questions. Russian aggression against Ukraine was introduced as a new topic as a possible trigger for aid. The survey was conducted by Závecz Research between 8-18 September 2023. The margin of error for the reported data is up to ±3.1 percent depending on the distribution of responses in the total sample.