Mária Murray Svidroňová

• PhD.
• Professor (Associate) at Matej Bel University

The Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II, challenging host nations to rapidly develop support systems for millions displaced by conflict. This study explores the life trajectory concept-encompassing personal growth, historical context, timing, and social relationships-to analyze the efforts of Slova...

Zygmunt Bauman zaviedol pojem „tekutá modernita“ na charakterizovanie meniacich sa životných štýlov typických pre mestské centrá. Alternatívou je „pevná modernita“, ktorú opisuje ako snahu o stabilitu a zachovanie tradície – koncept typický pre vidiecke oblasti. Keďže vidiek sa považuje za protiklad mesta, obyvatelia vidieka sú vnímaní skôr ako ľud...

Innowacje odgrywają kluczową rolę w napędzaniu postępu i kreowaniu odpowiedzi na zmieniające się potrzeby i wyzwania, przed którymi stają współczesne gospodarki w wymiarze ekonomicznym, społecznym czy technologicznym. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest ocena innowacyjnej efektywności 11 postkomunistycznych krajów członkowskich UE w celu zidentyfikowan...

This study aims to present an analysis of co-creation initiatives in selected sectors of public administration (welfare, healthcare, education, and environment protection) in the context of the Slovak Republic. The primary method used is a case study. We identify shared processes and possible success factors by presenting five selected case studies...

The importance of non-profit organisations has been growing in recent decades, which is reflected in the increase in their number, changes in the way of public services delivery, as well as their benefits to society. The existence of non-profit organisations reflects the limitation of the economic systems, failures of the political system and the s...

There is much research on how to improve the provision of local public services without having to increase municipal public spending. Latest trends stress out the role of citizens and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that can provide various public services using private funding (donations) and volunteers. This paper analyses the relationship...

Since the Second World War, the war in Ukraine has led to the largest and fastest forced displacement in Europe, when millions of Ukrainians fled abroad. The European Union reacted very swiftly to this mass influx and activated the Temporary Protection Directive, granting Ukrainians special temporary protection status, including the right to work,...

Crowdfunding is currently one of the funding options for charitable non‐profit projects created by non‐governmental organizations (NGOs). This paper aims to analyse the charity projects created by NGOs and individuals on crowdfunding platforms and then compare them with commercial crowdfunding, emphasizing the success factors of charity campaigns....

According to the Charities Aid Foundation, more than three in ten adults worldwide will donate money to charity in 2020. Indonesia occupies the world’s #1 spot for money donations, likely driven by religious giving. The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2020, reports that charitable giving grew from three of the four sources of giving and...

Participatory budgeting (PB) can have many effects including greater legitimacy of investment decisions due to the inclusion of citizens in determining investment priorities. This leads to greater continuous participation, engagement, education and increased civic responsibility, thus achieving greater transparency in public expenditure, while enco...

Local authorities’ financial resources should be commensurate with the competences provided for by the law. However, in most countries, representatives of local self-governments claim that their total revenues are insufficient to deliver allocated tasks at a standard scale and level of quality. Such statements are somewhat problematic, especially i...

Predložená správa je jedným z výstupov národného projektu „Podpora partnerstva a dialógu v oblasti participatívnej tvorby verejných politík II.“ (ďalej len NP PARTI 2), realizovaného Úradom splnomocnenca vlády SR pre rozvoj občianskej spoločnosti (ďalej len ÚSV ROS) a podporeného z prostriedkov Európskeho sociálneho fondu cez OP Efektívna verejná s...

Many municipalities are facing the problem of non-payers of local taxes or fees. Despite the fact that reminders are sent to taxpayers, informing that in case of non-payment they will be referred for execution, there are still those who do not pay. Several studies have shown that behavioural interventions can be a tool to reduce the proportion of n...

Purpose The purpose of this research is to identify and test selected economic and organisational factors influencing the sustainability of participatory budgeting (PB) in Slovakia. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from websites and publicly available documents from all local governments with urban municipality status in Slovaki...

Financial management as a scholalry field has been rapidly chaning in the last few decaades. This paradigm shoft has been fueled by the non-precendented development of ICT technology, globalization, man-made and natural disasters and consequent crises. The aim of this book is to collect evidence on the development of financial management, both in t...

Kniha, ktorú držíte v ruke, má ambíciu prispieť k tomu, aby čoraz viac organizácií vo verejnom sektore na Slovensku pracovalo s poznatkami behaviorálnych vied. Vznikla ako výstup aktivít uskutočnených v rámci projektu podporeného Agentúrou pre vedu a výskum (APVV) s názvom Behaviorálne intervencie v miestnej samospráve: zvyšovanie účinnosti miestny...

Using the example of the Slovak Republic as a post-communist country and its city of Banská Bystrica, this article deals with the dilapidated municipal cultural property which was transferred from the state to the municipalities after the fall of communism in 1989. The long period of disorganization and public administration reforms has left many m...

The European Union emphasises the need to sever the link between economic growth, resource consumption and waste production and has set targets to achieve the most efficient use of natural resources and reduce waste. These changes have led to the amendment of laws in member countries, including Slovakia, analysed in this article, and are creating p...

It is the 2nd edition of the textbook entitled "Participatory Budgeting (Contexts, Models, and Practical Experience)". The textbook is written in Slovak, and it is focused on participatory budgeting with special regard to adoption and further spread of this democratic innovation in budgeting in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The individual chapte...

It is a common narrative that small and medium towns of formerly socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are suffering a substantial decline due to better offerings in bigger metropolitan areas. Focused on Slovakia, this paper presents a methodology for assessing the future viability of small and medium towns, considering different...

Public-Owned Enterprises (POEs) are generally large economic enterprises owned and governed by state institutions. POEs generally are the sole or the main provider of the key public goods and services as water, electricity, transport, telecommunications, and postal services. If administered efficiently, the POEs are important for national developme...

In this chapter we take a closer look at the participatory budgeting in Slovakia: how is it implemented, what rules does it follow, how the process looks, and what the objectives are. Based on the desk research and descriptive analysis we map examples of good practice and point out obstacles that limit broader use of participatory budgeting in the...

This textbook entitled "Participatory Budgeting (Contexts, Models, and Practical Experience)" is focused on participatory budgeting and it was written by seven authors from various universities in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It consists of four chapters: (1) Civil Society and the Third Sector as Drivers of Public Participation; (2) Participato...

In the past decade, the issue of stakeholder participation has been researched in the context of sustainable development. Indeed, new approaches to sustainable development point out the role of relationship-building with stakeholders and search for suitable tools how to involve stakeholders in the local strategic development. This paper deals with...

Analýza spracovaná v rámci národného projektu Kvalitnejšie verejné politiky prostredníctvom lepšieho poznania občianskej spoločnosti Kód projektu ITMS2014+: 314 011 V576

The ability to maintain and control the balance is the basis for the design and construction of more complex motor skills in the context of sports performance and thus sports can influence the control of static balance in physical education at school. We argue that climbing can be one of such sports. The paper analyzes the project of a climbing cen...

It is a common belief that small towns of formerly socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are suffering a substantial decline due to the better offerings in bigger metropolitan areas and in western countries. This belief has been reinforced by a long transformation process: firstly, the transition from a command economy to capitali...

In this article, we aim to analyse the state of abandoned properties in Slovak municipalities and present possible solutions for this issue. In the theoretical part, we define abandonment and the tools for abandonment based on the current literature review. Building on this framework, the paper analyses the towns and villages of selected Slovak reg...

The paper contributes to the research on social enterprises. Based on historical institutionalism, we map the evolution of social enterprises in the Czech Republic and Slovakia after the collapse of communist rule. The findings indicate that the historical-evolutionary trajectories differ, despite their common path during the totalitarian regime. T...

The paper presents a view of the crowdfunding phenomenon in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, identifying factors that determine the success of non-profits on crowdfunding platforms operating in two (post-) Communist CEE countries in terms of the two-sided market theory. The main finding is that the status of a project creator does not significantly...

The purpose of this handbook is to provide support to academic personnel (teachers) who decide to deliver courses based on SL in any type of higher education institution. The manual is structured in five chapters, which provide an overview of the key issues of SL understanding and implementation in higher education. In addition to the main text, yo...

For more than 30 years the delivery of local public services has been undergoing change, from a style of delivery dominated by the public sector to a more efficient, more effective mixed system, characterised by variations in ownership and sources of financing. Concepts such as public-private-civil sector mix, partnerships, co-operation, and co-cre...

The field of social housing is one of many subjected to the potentials of co-production. Specifically, the Sustainable Development Goals target 11.1 is “By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums”. The current Slovak “State Housing Policy Concept to 2020”, among others, defines speci...

Worldwide the nonprofit organizations are experiencing challenging implications of austerity and financial uncertainty, which make them turn to commercial activities in order to meet the emerging survival challenges. Various key concepts describe the phenomenon of nonprofits becoming business-like. This chapter adds to the definitional clarificatio...

The paper deals with research into the innovative provision of public services by the non-governmental organizations in the field of housing. The paper describes the legislation of the housing system in Slovakia and aims to analyse innovation in social housing provision. The paper contributes to the knowledge on innovative social housing solutions...

The paper is focused on town planning from different point of view thancurrent urban and economic development which stresses the need of building metropolises and smart cities as a cure for urban problems. The paper is a counter-balance to this statement, especially in the conditions of Slovakia. The objective of this paper is to analyse living pre...

The purpose of this mapping is to learn about the development of service-learning in Central and Eastern Europe (to what extent the region knows / has heard about this innovative pedagogical approach and in what levels and ways it implements it), understand difficulties of and challenges for SL implementation in CEE, as well as identify key actors...

The development of information and communication technologies (ICT) enables, inter alia, to address the problem of ineffective provision of public goods (free-rider problem) and emerging externalities. This degree of inefficiency can be reduced by introducing alternative ways of securing public goods on a voluntary basis such as crowdsourcing. Crow...

In this paper, we argue that a counter-balance is needed to metropolises, especially in small European countries. This counter-balance is necessary for national identity as well as social cohesion. As such, rural areas and small towns are necessary and must remain economically viable for a nation’s success. The objective of the paper is to investig...

The purpose of this trainers’ handbook is to provide support to trainers who will deliver training in service-learning in any type of higher education institution. This handbook presents for the trainers the structure of the training (training flow), gives additional ideas, useful tools and methods on how to conduct a training session effectively,...

This paper presents the first findings of research that focused on the use of social media by Slovak regional towns. Social media, namely Facebook, are considered a powerful tool for various public administration activities that do not relate only to informing citizens, but also having them participate in decision-making and municipality governance...

In this paper, we present the partial results of the SLIHE project. The first phase of the SLIHE project was focused on research on the needs of teachers in relation to the implementation of the servicelearning strategy in the following countries and institutions: • Slovakia – Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica, • Czech Republic - Palacký Univ...

This paper aims to describe the legislation of the social housing system in Slovakia and to analyse innovations in social housing provision. The paper contributes to the literature on innovative social housing solutions provided by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), or so-called third sector. The analysis reveals the main factors that may contr...

Between 1989 and 1991, a giant region of the world underwent revolutionary change. To this day, it is widely referred to as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This book represents an overview and a reflection of changes in countries that implemented the most profound public administration reforms (PAR) – countries that joined the European Union (EU)...

In this paper we focus on risk governance in innovation processes in providing healthcare services. We employed qualitative analysis to define and examine various approaches of relevant stakeholders to the risk definition and governance in public service innovation in mental healthcare. The objective of this paper is to present a case study prepare...

This chapter examines social innovations in the public sector emphasizing the plural forms of ownership in public service provision which enable co-creation. It identifies different types of co-creation as social innovations, as well as the drivers for, and barriers to, successful co-creation processes at the subnational level in Slovakia. This stu...

This chapter examines social innovations in the public sector emphasizing the plural forms of ownership in public service provision which enable co-creation. It identifies different types of co-creation as social innovations, as well as the drivers for, and barriers to, successful co-creation processes at the subnational level in Slovakia. This stu...

The publication examines various factors influencing the development of civil society in Slovakia - ranging from framework socio-political conditions, international and regional context, current legal framework, sources of financing, public opinion and motivation of citizens for their civic engagement. The book presents also current challenges that...

The relation between the levels of public expenditure and their impact on economic growth and socio-economic development is long-Term issue investigated by the public finance theory. Relevant answers to it are also of great importance for economic practice. The aim of the present study is to analyse the relation between the levels and structures of...

Cieľom vedeckej monografie je aplikovať teoretický koncept vnímania inovácií v prostredí verejných služieb a analyzovať nový prístup k poskytovaniu verejných služieb v podobe spoluvytvárania verejných hodnôt občanmi, ktorí sa podieľajú na tvorbe inovácií prostredníctvom mimovládnych neziskových organizácií (tzv. co-creation). Súčasťou cieľa je iden...

Recently growing attention has been paid to the issue of public-sector innovation: scholars have progressively developed a fully-fledged field of study in this direction, since remarkable differences exist between public and private organizations. Perhaps paradoxically, the decline of NPM itself from the 1990s onwards has paved the way to further d...

The New Public Management movement regards citizens as customers and, accordingly, focuses on the quality of services provided by public-sector organizations. Since this approach negatively affected democratic values, there has been a shift of the focus from consumer satisfaction and quality of services to quality of governance. The latter implies...

The goal of the paper is to analyze the economic determinants of the non-profit sector in Slovakia. In contrast to the neoclassical market failure approach, we build on the institutionalist and systems-theoretic framework that draws attention to the shortcomings of the dominant institutional structures of the private for-profit and public sectors....

The current reforms in government and public administration have to also respond to the difficult economic situation caused by the crisis. The use of information and communication technologies including electronic public procurement represent an important tool to increase economy and in some cases, efficiency, too. The goal of this article is to an...

The goal of the paper is to analyse the economic determinants of the non-profit sector in Slovakia. In contrast to the neoclassical market failure approach, we build on the institutionalist and systems-theoretic framework that draws attention to the shortcomings of the dominant institutional structures of the private for-profit and public sectors....

Reforms of government and public administration combined with use of information and communications technologies (ICT) have brought many innovations in public sector, including telework as a form of organizing and performing work out of the employers´premisesemployers´premises. This structural change in work organization aims at increasing efficien...

Participation as such is connected with political, social and civic dimensions. Through participation, citizens can directly or indirectly help to make the public process become more transparent and more efficient. It allows citizens “to see" into a decision-making process, to understand it, as well as contribute and be able to control it. In pract...

Nonprofit organizations play an important and irreplaceable role in building a civil society. They are one of the main pillars of democracy and bearers of its principles, which can be used to argue the merits of their own existence and the intensive research of their field both on a theoretical and practical level. Based on an interdisciplinary me...

The objective of this paper is to present the factors that were the key differences between successful and failed social innovations in a co-creation initiative in Slovakia. Out of 33 implemented projects in this initiative we analyzed 21 final reports for the co-creation projects and selected 5 cases for an in-depth analysis. With 5 representative...

The marketization of public services brings among other objectives also an increase in public expenditure efficiency, improvements in public services quality and co-creation in public services provision. In this article we analyze participatory budgeting that can be perceived as an innovative tool for an effective management of public services deli...

Housing is one of the basic human needs, therefore the demand for housing include all individuals in society. Apart from them, there is a wide range of public and private actors on the housing market. They represent the housing supply, financial and non-financial support, and form housing policies. The paper analyzes the role of non-governmental no...

The new approaches to the delivery of local public services include co-creation. In this paper, we focus on two local public service delivery actors: local governments and civil society. Our objective is to identify different types of co-creation in social innovations and the relevant drivers and barriers that account for the success or failure of...

Služby bývania sú verejnou službou, ktorú by mal zabezpečiť verejný sektor. Služby bývania sú problémom vo viacerých regiónoch, najmä východného a južného Slovenska. Príspevok prezentuje čiastkové výstupy projektu LIPSE, ktorý sa zameriava na sociálne inovácie vo viacerých oblastiach verejného sektora, okrem iného aj na tzv. spoluvytváranie (co-cre...

this research focuses on two innovative practices in the public sector. The first is eprocurement, which refers to the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to carry out a number of stages of the procurement process, including search, sourcing, negotiation, ordering, receipt, and post-purchase review. This technology is relevant...

The goal of Work Package (WP4) is to identify the current range of approaches to risk in innovation in public services across European countries as well as to identify the key contingencies in two policy sectors and to empirically identify and evaluate current approaches for relevant stakeholders to engage in discussions about levels of risk for pu...

Information and communications technology (ICT) has enabled the creation of tools to organize, transmit, store and act on information in digital form in new ways (Atkinson - McKay, 2007). Combined with the reforms of government and public administration in the spirit of New Public Management, many innovations are driven by ICT in the public sector....

This paper deals with social innovations in the public sector with emphasis on the plurality system of ownership forms in public service provision which can have several forms: public-private-civil sector mix, partnerships, cooperation and co-creation. The latter is the focus of our study. The objective of this paper is to identify different types...

Social innovation is a recurring theme in public administration, in order to face contemporary socalled ‘wicked’ challenges like an ageing population and youth unemployment. Social innovation can be considered as a process of co-creation, since it seeks the collaboration of multiple stakeholders. These stakeholders bring in their own specific resou...

The marketization of public services aims at a continuous increase in public expenditure efficiency, continual improvements in public services quality, the implementation of the professional management tools in the public sector, emphasis on the plurality system of ownership forms in public service delivering - public-private-civil sector mix, part...

Non-governmental organizations play a vital role in the economy of every country. They are not only providers of special type of services that public sector is not capable of providing in full quality and quantity, and private sector is not interested in, but they are also watch dogs of the society and builders of active citizenship. Thus they have...

In this article we summarize and analyze the tax system affecting nongovernmental organizations in the Slovak Republic. We chose the field of tax law based on results from questionnaire research with Slovak nongovernmental organizations, results from an expert evaluation employing the Delphi method used in the dissertation “Self-Financing Strategy...

Self-financing of non-government organizations is a highly discussed topic in the theory and practice of non-government organizations (NGOs). In the presented paper we respond to the current theoretical and practical questions associated with self-financing in the context of an effort to achieve financial independence and thus a long-term stability...

The paper deals with funding from the European Union as one of the ways for municipalities to obtain an additional source of funding to increase their standard. Given that Slovakia participated in first programming period from the European Union in cohesion policy in years 2007-2013, the municipality were able to apply. Common problems of municipal...

Slovensko má v rámci štátov EÚ piatu najvyššiu nezamestnanosť mladých ľudí. Podľa údajov Eurostat (2012) je bez práce každý tretí Slovák vo veku do 25 rokov. Vysoký podiel tvoria absolventi s nedostatkom praxe a s chýbajúcimi pracovnými návykmi, problém je v pretrvávajúcom slabom prepojení medzi vzdelávacím systémom a trhom práce. Na Slovensku preb...

The New Public Management (NPM) implemented in the most of developed coun-tries has introduced the market type mechanisms (MTM) in public service delivery. The marketization of public services aims at a continuous increase in public ex-penditure efficiency, continual improvements in public services quality, the imple-mentation of the professional m...

The current knowledge economy is being further developed; main driving force is so-called information society. This society is characterized by the penetration of new information and communication technologies at all levels of the economy and social life. This allows introducing innovative forms of organizing work that enhance the performance and f...