About half of central and local government entities nationwide have signed business consignment contracts with nonprofit organizations, according to a recent survey.
The finding reflects the need by public entities to turn to NPOs to improve their services while cutting personnel and other costs, said Masashi Imase, who heads the Civic Action Clearinghouse, the private research group that conducted the survey.
The survey, commissioned by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry and conducted in January and February, covered all prefectures and municipalities as well as central government ministries and their branch offices.
A total of 878 entities responded, according to the Civic Action Clearinghouse.
Questionnaires were also sent to NPOs nationwide, with 466 responding.
The survey found that 46 percent of administrative entities have signed a business contract with an NPO.
Among NPOs, 61 percent of those polled have signed contracts with at least one government entity.