Nongovernmental nonprofit organisations in social services: theories versus the real situation in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The national economy can be divided by theory into four segments - public sector, the nongovernmental non-profit sector, the nongovernmental for-profit sector, and the household sector. For a long time, the nongovernmental nonprofit sector has been considered to be a very active and important segment in the area of providing public services. In this paper, we outline the actual situation in the Czech Republic, the role and scope of Czech nongovernmental nonprofit organisations in the field of social services that is significant. On the basis of official statistics of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic (The Register of Social Service Providers) and other databases (Register of Economic Entities and Public Register), we show that almost two third of all social services (approximately 5,600 services) is provided by nongovernmental nonprofit providers (especially by Public beneficiary corporations, Churches and religious communities and Societies). The contribution also include detailed characteristics of these organizations (their legal form, the location of their seat, number of provided services, etc.). The findings and results of our research are then critically discussed with regard to relevant theories and results of previous studies.