The government intends to assign an important role to civil society representing the interests of communities of citizens and business organisation and considers them a partner in shaping and determining the government's goals. They have an equally significant weight in performing policy as well as interest representation tasks, and in meeting the strategic goals of health care and social policy together with state and municipalities. The civil societies have a right to be represented on the National Health Council, the National Council for Disability Affairs and the National Council for Elderly Affairs; in addition to these fora other models of civil dialogue are also emerging.

The parliamentary debate days related to special programmes, the internet fora that allowed for learning about and commenting on draft legislation, and conference-type events that allow for targeted dialogue constitute important venues for the Ministry of Health, Social and Family Affairs to keep contact with civil societies.

The purpose of the process launched in line with the draft civil strategy of the government and the Ministry is to strengthen the civil societies providing services and interest representation in the field of health care and social affairs in order to develop the sector, and to develop regular and efficient cooperation. The basic document for this is the Concept of Collaboration, which made a proposal for the principles of cooperation between the Ministry of Health, Social and Family Affairs and civil interest representation, social and welfare non-profit service providers, renewing the system of dialogue and developing civil relations.

Objectives:

• to renew relations between the Ministry and non-profit organisations, to develop consensus and to put the system of professional dialogue and reconciliation on a new foundation,
• to organise and maintain fora for publicity and create the conditions for interactivity.

The Ministry's strategic partner organisations are national umbrella organisations. Their professional relations and network experience provide the guarantee for efficient mediation between the Ministry and civil societies, promoting the development of horizontal relations and providing differentiated professional services in line with the task performed by the different types of organisations.

Professional interest reconciliation fora have been in operation again since the autumn of 2002: these are the Interest Reconciliation Council for the Health Care and Social Sector, the Social Committee of the National Interest Reconciliation Council and the Social Council.

The Interest Reconciliation Council for the Health Care and Social Sector provides the forum for interest reconciliation on matters related to working in the sector, the living and working conditions of the sector's employees. In addition, the Council comments on concepts and decisions as well as draft legislation at national and sectoral level, which concerns the work done by employees.

The National Interest Reconciliation Council is the most comprehensive forum for trilateral negotiations, and one of its specialist committees is the Social Committee operated by the relevant ministry. The purpose and task of the Committee is to promote the exploring of interests, efforts and conflicts of the government, employers and employees on matters concerning the world of work and related to special policy, to facilitate reconciliation and to reach macro-level agreements.

The task of the Social Council is to promote the awareness of an reconciliation on the different efforts, as well as approaching of positions in preparing legislation work concerning the social field.

The National Health Care Council assists the Government in performing tasks related to health care organisation and management, and provides initiatives, makes proposals, comments and gives advice on the development of the government's health policy, and performs analysis and evaluation activities in the process of implementing the government's health policy decisions. Established on 19 January 1999, the National Council for Disability   Affairs assists the Government's work related to the disabled, comments on draft legislation concerning disabled people, makes proposals on decisions, programmes and legal regulations to be made in connection with them. There is a Civil Workshop in operation next to the Council, comprising nearly a hundred organisations acting in the interest of people with disabilities.

Cooperation and common legislation work is justified not only by the government's intentions but the data on the typical operation of the civil sector. According to data from the CSO, in 2000 altogether 2,111 foundations and non-profit organisations performed health care activities, meaning 4.5% of all organisations in the Hungarian non-profit sector. Most of them operated in the form of foundations. Foundations were set up mostly to support health care institutions, hospitals and hospital wards (improving infrastructure, purchasing machinery and instruments, supporting hospital and institutional care). The activities of foundations set up for public health purposes are manifold and they include foundations related to providing health care, developing and educating the population but also include organisations dealing with the maintenance of health, a healthy lifestyle, informing and educating young people as well as the general development of public health.

There are altogether 4,137 civil organisations working in social care, which is 8.7% of all organisations, most of them also in the form of foundations; 21% of foundations supported people with impaired health (people with physical disabilities, mental disabilities, chronic patients, vision and hearing impaired, diabetes patients, renal patients, etc.), 21% served to support protecting children and young persons, 12% supported the needy (the homeless, refugees, the poor) and 11% supported the elderly.

The largest number of non-profit organisations with more than one member consisted of organisations supporting people with impaired health, but the number of those engaged in family protection, primarily supporting large families is also high.

The Social Act provides that civil or non-profit sectors may also participate in providing social care that grants personal care, provided they are able to ensure appropriate conditions for the people they care for.

All in all, it may be said that the relationship between the Ministry and civil organisations is developing dynamically and that new forms of collaboration keep emerging.