Opportunities for non-governmental non-profit organizations and volunteering in dealing with pandemic covid-19 and emergencies in the South Bohemia Region

Abstract

In addition to state-guaranteed components, NGOs and volunteers are part of a system that can be used to mitigate the eff ects of the Covid-19 epidemic and other emergencies. Non-governmental non-profi t organisations are one of the forms of interest groups and can be described as a process of uniting the interests of citizens, which, for various reasons, are not secured by the state. The aim of the paper is (a) to examine the cooperation of crisis management staff of municipalities with extended powers with non-governmental non-profi t organisations and volunteers in preparing for and solving emergencies, and (b) to fi nd out the experience and forms of cooperation of crisis management staff of municipalities with extended powers with non-governmental non-profi t organisations and volunteers in dealing with the Covid-19 epidemic in the conditions of the South Bohemian Region. The main research method was a survey in the form of questionnaires. The results of the study show that the cooperation of crisis management staff of individual municipalities with extended powers and non-governmental non-profi t organisations/volunteers in the South Bohemian Region should focus on weaknesses and threats. The strategy is characterised by trying to eliminate weaknesses and avoid threats through logical constraints or reorganisations of the system.