Pavol Frič

Problem-oriented participative forecasting: Theory and practice

Abstract Problem-oriented participative forecasting1 (POPF) is an autonomous and evolving concept. It aims not only to provide early signals of threats to development or to identify opportunities for development, but also to articulate interests and mobilize different social groups to act in a manner conducive to the elimination of such threats and exploitation of such opportunities. This concept of the function of forecasting has major factual and methodological implications. The focus of this article is primarily on the forecasting process as a way of active social learning and anticipatory behaviour. It attempts to synthesize the problem-oriented and participative approaches to forecasting into a single methodology, which it documents by a specific example of its application in science forecasting in the Slovak Socialist Republic.

Political Developments After 1989 and Their Impact On The Nonprofit Sector

The installation, functioning and fall of the communist regime took considerably different courses in each of the Central European countries that were part of the so-called Soviet bloc, i.e., Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland. Nevertheless, the fundamental political changes happening in these countries in the late 1980s had one typical feature in common: they were significantly influenced by the ideology and activity of people who voluntarily engaged themselves in civil (dissent) initiatives, or, today it could be said, in nonprofit organizations standing in opposition to the totalitarian communist power (see for example Solidarity in Poland or Charter 77 in the former Czechoslovakia).2 The fundamental changes the dissenters and their nonprofit organizations (NPOs) desired, were, above all, establishing parliamentary democracy with a pluralist system of political parties and people’s freedom of association. The manner in which NPOs in these countries managed initiating these changes, influencing them, or participating in them was then reflected in the later attitudes of politicians and the entire society toward the nonprofit sector. There can be no doubt that it was these changes that enabled the nonprofit sector to develop, which was unthinkable in these countries under socialism. The most obvious evidence of that is the rapid growth in the number of NPOs after 1989 in all Central European postcommunist countries.

DOES VOLUNTEERING CAUSE TRUST

ABSTRACT Social capital theory expects volunteering to generate general social trust, while critics point out that there is little evidence to support this claim. The purpose of this article is to show that volunteering can cause trust, depending on the institutional context and the types of organizations for which people volunteer. The data are from representative population surveys conducted in Norway and the Czech Republic in 2009. The analysis shows that in institutional contexts with impartial and reliable institutions, as in the case of Norway, general social trust is very high in comparative perspective, and the experience of volunteering has little additional effect. However, volunteering boosts institutional trust because volunteers get in touch with a political and administrative system that supports and interacts with the voluntary sector. This applies particularly to voluntary organizations in culture, sports, and recreation. In contrast, in an institutional context with elements of clientelism and corruption, as in the case of the Czech Republic, there is no positive effect on institutional trust. However, the level of general social trust is low and the collaborative experience of volunteering can generate social trust. This applies particularly to voluntary organizations that are not associated with the established political culture.

Small Development Within the Bureaucracy Interests: The Nonprofit Sector in the Czech Republic

In the Czech republic, the concept of civil society was introduced to public consciousness after 1989, when the Communist Party’s monopoly of power was abolished. This historical event left indelible traces also on the meanings in which the term “civil society” appears in the public usage. In the beginning the mass media expounded the circumstance that it had been the civil society in the form of dissident organizations that had a decisive share in the downfall of Communist totalitarianism. Civil society was understood to be organized defiance towards an unjust government and undemocratic conditions. The new political leaders presented the organizations of civil society as the authentic expression of the will of the people. When the euphoria from gaining freedom subsided, questions of political stability and smooth functioning of democratic institutions started to dominate. Under the influence of the authority of R. Dahrendorf, the idea began to spread that civil society is not mature enough to fulfill the role of guardian of stability of the political situation, and that it will take several decades until this can materialize. This way the idea gained ground that civil society is some kind of a generator of political culture among the population, a culture that shall be the guarantee of a truly democratic and peaceful development of society (Fric/Deverova/Pajas/Silhanova, 1998: 14f.).

Management of Volunteers in Nonprofit Organizations

In the contemporary world, globally interconnected thanks to advanced technology and, at the same time, marked by giant corporate contracts, volunteering represents a phenomenon that crosses national, religious and social borders and points to the possibility of a coexistence that is based on mutual help and solidarity. A new phenomenon, which also appeared in connection with the International Year of the Volunteer 2001, is organizations and individuals that engage in volunteering on a professional basis. It sounds paradoxical, but for voluntary work to be productive, it must be managed effectively and professionally. Volunteering has reached such an extent in the world that a new field has emerged — volunteer management.

Residual and Emancipatory Value of Volunteering in the Czech Society

The social value of volunteering is changing in the context of its growing involvement in social problem solving in today’s postindustrial societies. Using as a background Payton and Moody’s various reasons for taking a philanthropic approach to social problem solving, residual and emancipatory values of volunteering are distinguished. The chapter analyzes support for these two values by the Czech general public, government, and civil society organizations.