Polish and Russian rural areas in transition. Land and demography

Rozdział z: Functioning of the Local Production Systems in Central and Eastern European Countries and Siberia. Case Studies and Comparative Studies, ed. Mariusz E. Sokołowicz.The aim of this article is to present the main changes in the structure of the space and demographic processes of rural areas in Poland and Russia, taking place after 1990. Though both countries are completely different (e.g. as for the perspective of scale, the position in the international arena, the forms of agricultural production, etc.), they were subjected – within a similar period of time – to the systemic change and are faced with multiple problems of the socio-economic transition period. The terms of the environment, including mainly political, but also historical and cultural factors, caused that Poland and Russia have chosen other paths of transformation, yielding diverse results. Above all, the two countries perceive the role of the rural areas in the society in a different way.Monograph financed under a contract of execution of the international scientific project within 7th Framework Programme of the European Union, co-financed by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (title: “Functioning of the Local Production Systems in the Conditions of Economic Crisis (Comparative Analysis and Benchmarking for the EU and Beyond”)). Monografia sfinansowana w oparciu o umowę o wykonanie projektu między narodowego w ramach 7. Programu Ramowego UE, współfinansowanego ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego (tytuł projektu: „Funkcjonowanie lokalnych systemów produkcyjnych w warunkach kryzysu gospodarczego (analiza porównawcza i benchmarking w wybranych krajach UE oraz krajach trzecich”))

Civic participation in Paweł Starosta’s research

Research on the condition of democracy in post-socialist countries focuses primarily on issues of civic participation. This article, which provides an analytical overview, presents civic participation in light of the achievements of Professor Paweł Starosta. The text has the character of an analytical overview study. Particular attention is focused on the social context, the aims and directions of the research, the definition and determinants of public participation, and the main results of the observations made by Starosta. Starosta’s contribution, visible in the analysed works, extends the perception of public participation beyond the behavioural dimension and constructs theoretical concepts to explain political involvement based on the criterion of subjectivity. It also distinguishes ideal types of political involvement at the local level. In conclusion, Starosta’s research has considerable application potential in the context of the methods used to measure and explain participation at the local level. The comparative value may be particularly useful for researchers of local systems, especially rural systems (rural studies), who come from various scientific disciplines, including political sociology, rural or urban sociology, and socio-political geography

The Financial Dimension of Developing Social Entrepreneurship: Polish and Ukrainian Experiences

This paper summarises the arguments within the scientific discussion on the financial dimension of social entrepreneurship. The purpose of the research is to investigate the Polish and Ukrainian experiences of financial foundations for developing social entrepreneurship and, based on the Polish experience, to provide recommendations for social entrepreneurship development in Ukraine. Are view of literary sources and approaches to solving the problem of limited financial resources for social enterprises indicates that state support in Ukraine is in its infancy. The governmental policy should identify the needs of social enterprises and what social problems they will solve. The relevance of these issues is that the level of financial commitment to the development of social entrepreneurship is dependent on the cooperation of various stakeholders, i.e., state authorities and local governmental bodies (regulatory mechanism of financial support), business (mentoring and grant support), higher educational institutions (social entrepreneurship training), and civil society organisations (public awareness, social promotion). The research analyses the experience of financing mechanisms of social entrepreneurship in Poland for recommendations on the development of the domestic financial model for social enterprise support. Based on the Polish experience, government expenditure in the social sphere should go towards organising social entrepreneurship support programs for those social enterprises that use effective models to commercialise the social impact, which will force the development of social businesses. Methodologically, this study is based on a comparative method of analysing the main sources of social enterprise financing in Poland and Ukraine, including public institutions (grants, loans, guarantees, subsidies and prizes) and other international funds. To investigate the financial foundations of social entrepreneurship development, the research determines the variety of revenue sources of social enterprises in Poland and the financial dimension of social enterprises by analysing the level of public and private funding. As the concept of social entrepreneurship is becoming more widespread in Ukraine, the research has significant strategic and applied importance. The research shows that social entrepreneurship in Poland is recognized at the state level as an important tool for achieving social goals in society. The results of the study are particularly relevant in the context of modern challenges, as Ukrainian business owners can take advantage of the analysed European sources of support to start or expand their businesses. As many domestic social enterprises begin to grow, they may think of internationalising their social businesses. The results of the study contribute to the growth of support for the concept of internationalising social business, which has not yet become a common practice in Ukraine. Therefore, in the context of Ukraine today, international expansion maybe a logical step for existing and newly created social enterprises. The tools, resources and mechanisms for supporting social entrepreneurship in Poland identified as a result of the research may help Ukrainian social enterprises overcome obstacles to internationalisation

Rural women’s participation in local community management

One of the public activity forms by rural women is participation in the local community management processes, although traditionally women’s role in this sphere has been marginal. The latter can be partially explained by people’s attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, views, and opinions. The aim of this article is to present rural women’s attitudes to the co-management of their commune (in Polish: gmina) in three dimensions: cognitive (ideas and knowledge about management), behavioural (interest, willingness to participate, and participation in management), and emotional (evaluation of and satisfaction with the actions of authorities, trust in these entities). The unfolding analysis is based on a study conducted in selected gminas in Poland’s Łódzkie Voivodeship on a sample of 700 people as part of the ‘Management Models and Their Determinants in Rural Communes’ project co-financed by the National Science Centre. The studied women were not willing to participate in management, adopted passive and conservative attitudes, and accepted the model of management through representation rather than co-management. These results seem to contradict the theses about women’s high potential for participation in co-management. This finding is not a good prognosis for the future, as it may constitute yet another barrier in the development of a more participatory and democratic concept of rural management

Relations of Business with the Rural Environment

The aim of the article is to present the opinions of entrepreneurs on their relationship with local authorities and the local community. The considerations were based on the results of qualitative field studies conducted in 2016 using a technique of individual in-depth interviews with seven representatives of companies operating in rural areas. Analyses, embedded in the concept of corporate social responsibility, lead to the conclusion that in business relations with the commune authorities (similarly to non-governmental organizations and the local community) the so-called discretionary philanthropy and reactive involvement. They resulted mainly from social pressure, not the needs of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs referred to the sense of social responsibility towards the local community in economic, legal and philanthropic scope. There were no ethical arguments.Celem artykułu jest prezentacja opinii przedsiębiorców na temat ich relacji z przedstawicielami władzy lokalnej oraz społeczności gminnej. Rozważania oparto na wynikach jakościowych badań terenowych przeprowadzonych w 2016 roku techniką indywidualnych wywiadów pogłębionych z siedmioma przedstawicielami firm działających na obszarach wiejskich. Analizy, osadzone w koncepcji społecznej odpowiedzialności biznesu, prowadzą do wniosków, iż w relacjach biznesu z władzami gminy (podobnie jak z organizacjami pozarządowymi i lokalną społecznością) dominuje tzw. dyskrecjonalna filantropia i reaktywne zaangażowanie. Wynikały one głównie z nacisku społecznego, nie zaś z potrzeb przedsiębiorców. Przedsiębiorcy odwoływali się do poczucia odpowiedzialności społecznej wobec wspólnoty gminnej w zakresie ekonomicznym, prawnym i filantropijnym. Brakowało zaś argumentów o charakterze etycznym

Uczestnictwo mieszkańców wsi we współzarządzaniu gminą – w opiniach wójtów

Artykuł osadzony jest w problematyce zarządzania publicznego w wiejskich społecznościach lokalnych. Współczesne podejścia do zarządzania w polityce publicznej ewoluują w kierunku większego pluralizmu sprawowania władzy, a także zwiększonego zakresu partycypacji i wywierania wpływu na sprawy publiczne przez obywateli. Tekst zawiera opinie wójtów na współuczestnictwo mieszkańców w procesie zarządzania gminą. Materiał empiryczny zgromadzony został w 2016 r. w wyniku jakościowych badań terenowych w 6 gminach wiejskich województwa łódzkiego. Wyniki dowodzą, iż wójtowie nie dostrzegają w obywatelach w pełni aktywnego partnera w zarządzaniu sprawami publicznymi, dopuszczają możliwość współudziału mieszkańców w życiu publicznym gminy przede wszystkim w sprawach społeczno-kulturalnych. Rola mieszkańców sprowadza się głównie do zgłaszania potrzeb i wniosków oraz monitorowania efektów prowadzonych przez władze działań. Decydowanie o ważnych dla gminy sprawach nadal pozostaje wyłącznie domeną władz

Źródła wiedzy o potrzebach i opiniach mieszkańców w zarządzaniu gminą wiejską.

Zaspokajanie zbiorowych potrzeb obywateli stanowi zarówno zadanie własne samorządów gminnych, jak i moralny obowiązek ich władz. Posiadanie wiedzy na temat zakresu i specyfiki potrzeb, a także opinii mieszkańców w tym zakresie jest zatem punktem wyjścia do racjonalnych i skutecznych działań zarządczych. Lokalni decydenci mogą (teoretycznie) korzystać z wielu dostępnych źródeł wiedzy i w różny sposób je wykorzystywać. Nie zawsze jednak tak jest. Pojawia się zatem pytanie o realnie podejmowane przez władze lokalne działania w celu pozyskiwania wiedzy o opiniach i potrzebach mieszkańców (źródła wiedzy). Artykuł odwołuje się do wyników badań własnych autorki realizowanych w środowiskach wiejskich wśród lokalnych decydentów i mieszkańców. Wskazują one na relatywnie niewielkie zainteresowanie wnikliwym rozpoznaniem potrzeb mieszkańców. Zastępuje je powierzchowna obserwacja i intuicja władz. Ponadto, informacje o społeczności pozyskiwane są za pośrednictwem tradycyjnych kanałów komunikacji, tzn. rozmów z sołtysami i radnymi. Mieszkańcy rzadko postrzegani są jako źródło wiedzy lokalnej i poza wyrażeniem swojej opinii podczas zebrań nie włączają się w diagnozowanie problemów własnej społeczności. Addressing the collective needs of residents is both a task of local governments and a moral obligation of authorities. Having knowledge about the scope and specifics of the needs and the opinions of the residents in this respect is therefore the starting point for rational and effective management actions. Local decision-makers can (theoretically) use a wide array of knowledge sources and utilise them in a variety of ways. This is, however, not always the case. There arises therefore a question of real action taken up by local authorities to find out the opinions and needs of residents (sources of knowledge). The article draws on the results of the author’s own research conducted in rural areas among local decision-makers and residents. They indicate a relatively low level of interest in a thorough diagnosis of the needs of the residents. It is replaced by the superficial observation and intuition of the authorities. In addition, information about the community is obtained through traditional channels of communication in the form of talks with village leaders and councillors. Residents are rarely seen as a source of local knowledge and, apart from expressing their opinions at meetings, they seldom engage in the process of diagnosing their own problems