| Abstract [eng] |
The master 's thesis analyses the management of volunteers’ involvement in the provision of social services in the municipality. The aim of the present master 's thesis is to develop guidelines for municipalities on how to increase the involvement of volunteers in solving social problems in the municipality by studying the theoretical and practical aspects of volunteering as a public management innovation and the theoretical basis of the involvement of volunteers as additional human resources in providing social services in the municipality. The results of the research are presented in three parts: theoretical, research methodology and empirical. In the theoretical part, based on the latest scientific literature and strategic EU documents, the aim was to substantiate the management of volunteers’ involvement in the provision of social services in municipalities as social innovation management, because in the absence of proven models for managing volunteer involvement, internal measures had to be sought in organisations. Treating volunteers in the master 's thesis as human resources that have not yet been sufficiently evaluated in municipalities, the concepts of volunteering, its benefits and involvement of individuals in the provision of services are deepened. The analysis of good practices from other countries summarises the measures to help national and local authorities increase the involvement of volunteers in solving social problems. The research methodology is based on a qualitative research strategy. Written survey and document analysis methods were used for data collection. In the written survey, by informing Tauragė District and Šilalė District municipal employees, a standardised questionnaire was used, which was prepared on the basis of the insights of the theoretical part, the best experiences of other European countries and the volunteering activation measures planned by the government of the Republic of Lithuania. The analysis of the documents of the Republic of Lithuania and the analysed municipalities presented in the empirical part showed that the legal regulation of volunteering is not extensive. Volunteers are involved in the provision of social services through projects funded by the EU Structural Funds. In municipalities, volunteering is regulated by orders approved by the council and the director of the administration. Volunteering in municipalities is implemented through youth employment, NGO and community programs. The analysis of the material received from the informants in municipalities showed that the position of politicians and administration supporting volunteering was observed in the analysed municipalities, it was formalised in strategic and operational documents approved by the municipal council and administrative director, created in positions, financial support to NGO. Volunteers in municipalities are involved by publicising, informing about, consulting about and supporting opportunities for volunteering. Increasing the involvement of volunteers by creating clearer activity administration mechanisms in municipalities confirms that volunteers are not yet perceived as a potential in the provision of social services, that municipalities lack the experience to involve volunteers. |
