Regional Formation and Development Studies

The primary objective of this article is to analyse the international activities (paradiplomacy) of Polish voivodeships through the lens of the system for managing sustainable regional development. Paradiplomacy serves as both a tool for carrying out public tasks of a regional nature and an instrument for socio-economic and cultural development, for which voivodeship self-government is responsible in Poland. Another aim of the article is to present the geographical directions of voivodeships’ paradiplomacy, which, in addition to European regions, also includes partners from outside Europe. Thus, the article offers an academic reflection on the issue outlined

Economy operates in a broader social system, composed of households and enterprises but also by all institutions created by people. Law and politics is created and introduced in institutions in parallel to educational, administrative activities as well as any other social activities, including those related to the natural environment we live in. These institutions operate thanks to the social capital i.e. interconnected human resources. The quality of the social capital is dependent on mutual trust and relations in the society. For this reason, social capital is of key importance for sustainable development, both as a controller of the impact of the economy on the environment as well as the basis for the future development. The environment evolves continuously, there are rapidly changing economic processes and, in consequence, their impact on the environment is changing rapidly, tool. This brings some specific challenges to the resource and quality of human knowledge and the competence level of the human capital, as the only tool for a possible reduction of all imperfections.

The article analyzes the possibilities of use of innovative methods of instruction for adult learning in the regions with the purpose to intensify the knowledge management system and ensure the principle of equal opportunity for the inhabitants of the regions. The data were acquired in the course of implementation of the national programme Support for Vocational Education with the Aim to Develop Professional Skills and Competences of People Involved in Agriculture and Forestry within the project Vocational Education 2005–2006. The project was being implemented in the time period from 2006 to 2008 inclusive. In the course of project implementation, trainings in 21 regions of the Republic of Latvia had been carried out. All in all, 2,562 people in 119 groups had been trained.

Innovation and entrepreneurship in regions is one of essential tools, in added value creation in economics and in development in national level. It is very important to encourage creativity, new ways of thinking and continuous process of learning of individuals. There are some different approaches how to measure competitiveness of state economy and competitiveness in regional level. Global Competitiveness Index shows competitiveness of state among other world economies based on the 12 pillars of competitiveness, which is difficult to apply in regional or entrepreneurial level due to lack of data at regional level. Innovation is a key factor for development and competitiveness in individual (individual, enterprise) and institutional (local governmental institutions, regional, national and global level. Scientific problem of article is that impact of creativity, knowledge creation and dissemination and cooperation could not be measured trough quantitative data. Aim of the article is to define support model for cooperation of individual – institutional level in innovative entrepreneurship and its impact on regional development. Methods ar analysis of scientific literature, and political planning documents for define of support model in dynamic external environment.

Preventing degradation of the natural environment is a duty that a contemporary society has to fulfil. Global threats include mainly: the greenhouse effect, destruction of the ozone layer, loss of biodiversity, non-sustainable use of resources and reduction of the planet’s capacity for absorption of pollution and waste. Preventing the negative impact of economic processes on the natural environment is one of the priorities of the EU policy. Despite their diversity, EU countries pursue their goals on their way to a green economy. An improvement in the natural environment largely depends on the pro-environmental measures taken by small and medium-sized enterprises. The aim of the study is to present and compare the present state and barriers experienced in implementation of pro-environmental policy in small and medium-sized enterprises in selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.