Co-Management of an Institution by the Minister of Culture and Local Governments. A “Godsend” or a Risky Game?

The mechanism of co-management of cultural institutions by the Ministry of Culture and local government units has been functioning in the Polish practice since 2005–2006. Since 2015, the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość government has taken steps to double the number of co-management institutions up to 66 entities by the end of 2019. The cultural milieu generally welcomes these actions, seeing them as an opportunity to improve the budget of cultural institutions. However, when evaluating this process from a national perspective, as well as considering its political consequences, one can also notice certain threats resulting from the expansion of the co-management system. The perspective of the last 15 years shows that the issue is associated with many problems characteristic for contemporary Poland.

Cost Accounting of Cultural Institutions in Literature Research

The article deals with selected issues associated with cost accounting of cultural institutions in view of literature research. The authors describe and analyse available national monographs as well as scientific and specialist articles. In principle, the analysis reveals a poor state of research on the issues related to the cost of cultural institutions. The deficiencies in literature, combined with the necessity to propose scientific and practical solutions to meet the management needs of cultural institutions, makes it necessary to expand the study of cost accounting in such entities. The aim of the article is to assess the existing acquis in the area of cost accounting in cultural institutions as well as to provide a starting point for discussing the issues associated with the subject.

* Artykuł jest częścią projektu finansowanego w ramach programu Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego pod nazwą „Regionalna Inicjatywa Doskonałości” w latach 2019–2022, nr projektu 015/RID/2018/19, kwota finansowania 10 721 040,00 zł, który realizowany jest przez Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu.

Challenges of the Cultural Sector in Poland after 1989 and the Accompanying Popularization of the Idea of Audience Development

Through the last three decades, cultural workers have developed a growing belief in the importance of the so called ‘participative turn.’ The aim of the article is to scrutinize the changes accompanying the culture sector in Poland after 1989 and to identify the challenges which constitute what one could call a ‘fertile ground’ for the popularization of the idea of Audience Development. The concept in question refers to a strategic and holistic approach to the issue of building relations between cultural organizations and their audiences. The article is based on literature studies. The presented analysis focuses mostly on organisations and cultural policies in larger cities in Poland.

Implementation of Project Management Tools to the Exhibition Organization Process. Case Study of the National Museum in Krakow (2016–2019)

How to thoroughly improve the process of organizing exhibitions in a cultural institution? Is project management in a museum possible? How to implement new tools? What to do after initiating a change? This article provides answers to these questions through a case study prepared by the Head of the Exhibition Organization Department and the Head of the Coordinators Section of the National Museum in Krakow, directly responsible for the exhibition organization process. The article describes the events from 2016 to 2019. This includes an audit of the existing process of exhibition organization, implementation of corrective measures, introduction of new tools, their updating and verification, taking into account such solutions as treating the exhibition as a project, PRINCE2 and Scrum methods, a detailed description of the process, and creating standardized templates of project documents, i.e. a list of objects, project charter, project schedule, partial schedule, project budget, evaluation. These activities resulted in the improvement of team cooperation, the elimination of avoidable delays, the automation and acceleration of the process of preparing project documentation, making the obligations of individual team members public, submitting project data to the stakeholders of a given project on an ongoing basis, reducing the amount of manual work, and reducing the cost of the implementation of individual projects.

From a Public Institution to a Non-Governmental Organization. Changes in the Management of an Artistic Team on the Example of the Polish Radio Choir

The article presents the process of organizational and financial changes taking place in the Polish Radio Choir since 2012. The author is looking for an answer to the following question: can the Polish system of public support for culture accommodate regular activities of an artistic team as part of an NGO? For the purposes of the article, a SWOT analysis has been carried out among the current staff of the team, which has made it possible to understand the effects of the changes. The outcome of the analysis (along with the author’s commentary) is presented in the summary of the article.

Leadership in an Artistic Institution during a Pandemic. Case Study of the Musical Theater in Poznań

The article deals with the topic of leadership in a public cultural institution – a musical theater. The pandemic has highlighted the weakness or strength of such organizations, their passivity or proactivity. The strength of an institution lies in a team built by a reliable leader. The point of reference for the author are the leadership concepts formulated by prominent experts in management, such as Ken Blanchard or Jim Collins. A good leader creates a space for good communication, which then gives rise to an organizational culture that fosters creativity and shared responsibility. The article contains a summary of the research on organizational culture in the selected theater carried out using the Cameron and Quinn method and discusses the impact of their implementation on the development of the organization. Public cultural institutions can benefit greatly from business achievements in this area.