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Citizen participation is becoming an important element of self-government practice in Poland. One of the tools supporting the process of involving residents in local government matters is participatory budgeting. Its fundamental importance is to provide residents of local government units with the possibility of deciding on the allocation of some budget expenses, in particular those relating to infrastructure investments. Participatory budgeting is one of the most effective citizen practices aimed at involving residents in managing their cities. However, it can be a tool or a single project and a part of a thorough, long-term, and comprehensive reform of urban policy, based on the city's administrative reform. Citizen engagement is also seen as an instrument of state effectiveness. When citizens can meet their needs and hold public institutions accountable, public money is likely to be used more efficiently to deliver public goods and services that are better suited to citizens' needs. Recognition of the potential of citizen involvement in public affairs is widespread. The aim of the article is to present the concept and genesis of citizen participation as well as to analyze and compare the completed editions of the Zielona Góra Participatory Budgeting in 20132020. A particular attention was paid to the types of winning tasks and the principles of budget implementation.

"Monografia zawiera rozważania poświęcone podstawowym pojęciom polityki rodzinnej państwa oraz samym rodzinom (gospodarstwom domowym określonego typu), a także omówienie wyników badań ich dotyczących. Cele i zadania tej polityki potraktowano jak decyzje państwa zmierzające do poprawy jakości funkcjonowania rodzin, uwarunkowane ograniczonymi zasobami finansowymi oraz czynnikami demograficznymi, społecznymi i politycznymi. Jednocześnie uwzględniono zachowania rodzin decydujących o tym, czy i w jakim zakresie wykorzystać świadczenia lub usługi oferowane w ramach polityki rodzinnej, biorąc pod uwagę nie tylko własne potrzeby i możliwości, ale i ograniczenia w dostępie do nich. Analizy tych zagadnień dokonano m.in. przez badanie kierunków rozwoju polityki rodzinnej oraz ich implikacji, wysokości i tendencji w wydatkach państwa na określone cele, efektywności i skuteczności omawianej polityki oraz jej wpływu na jakość życia rodzin."--

Ireland's industrial relations have come into a new stage of relationship between the government and social partners after a period of effective social partnership functioning. One of the symptoms of this new approach is a mechanism based on the public service agreements. The Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2018 - Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA) can be an example of that kind of pacts. The main goal of this paper, therefore, is a presentation of the agreement including an analysis of its significant records and atmosphere around the pact. To achieve the goal the paper is structured as follows: the introduction includes a short description of social pacts as well as new public service agreements. The second part draws our attention to LRA's records. The third section discusses the attitude of different actors of industrial relations to Lansdowne Road Agreement. Finally, the conclusion is a short summary giving answers to the researched questions.

The article aims to portray a reconstruction as well as conduct an analysis of the changes in public support policy for the people who provide long-term care to their heavily disabled relatives. The first part presents the characteristic traits of the carer allowance recipients as well as their experiences and distinctiveness in the broader context of the situation of the disabled and their families. The second part provides a chronology of the changes in financial support policy toward carers since 2003 when the Act of Family Benefits took effect. Under the Act carers are entitled to allowances up to the present time. The process shows not only the lack of any stable trend as far as the direction of the policy in that field is concerned, but also a big role of external factors as well as social and public actors in that matter. The actors of public policy in this area as well as their impact on the construct of the legal changes in place constitute the subject of the third part of the article. Apart from the Council of Ministers, the author regards the Constitutional Tribunal and its rulings, the Ombudsman and also public support recipients along with their representative parties as the actors of public support policy.