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Description
Slovakia is experiencing a decline in social cohesion. One of the indicators is the data from Eurobarometer 90, according to which only 47% of the population is satisfied with the development in the country or the current level of the population´s willingness of the Slovak Republic to respect anti-pandemic measures in the long term. Social cohesion is the social forces that cause human communities to hold together. The presented project aims to understand and address the disintegration of social cohesion, which must be preceded by its study, for which it is necessary to have relevant data. We obtain data on the company''s value setting through the World Values Survey (WVS) and then combine them with public datasets within the rough structure of state institutions, which often do not share them and thus do not use the potential of their synergies for the benefit of the country and its people.
Objectives of the submitted project:
i) to collect relevant data on the phenomenon of social cohesion in the Slovak Republic through the WVS survey and public datasets of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic and state administration bodies,
ii) to develop an online tool for visualization and analysis of the obtained data in the form of an interactive map of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the map),
(iii) work with representatives of analytical services and civil society to develop the map in order to create a tool that will contribute to better public policy-making while increasing civil society capacity and citizens'' awareness.
The role of the Department of Global Development and Planning, University of Agder partner in the project is to oversee the quality of the tool under construction, as well as to make state-of-the-art technologies available to human society and government, and to serve the public interest with professional scrutiny. and the general public, and did not only serve creditworthy individuals or the corporate sphere.
Summary of project results
The implemented project responded to polarization and the so-called the tribalization of Slovak society, which weakens the mutual trust of its members and also the trust of citizens towards their state and its institutions. Since it is a complex phenomenon that is influenced by many factors, it is necessary to look for their individual causes. However, relevant data are required for this - e.g. about the value setting of members of Slovak society - and their subsequent analysis. The aim of the project was therefore to implement the largest survey of values in Slovakia, the creation of an online analytical platform for their evaluation (along with other available data about the country) and cooperation with state institutions that are responsible for the "reaction" of the state to the situation in the country.
The following activities were carried out within the project: i) implementation of the World Values Survey (WVS) in Slovakia; ii) development of an online analytical tool (map of Slovakia); iii) establishing cooperation (primarily) with analytical units of ministries.
The main results of the project include: i) returning the Slovak Republic to the data map of the world through the WVS survey - the survey results are freely available on the Internet in English; ii) analytical departments of the state administration, the academic community, journalists, the non-governmental sector and the general public have at their disposal an innovative analytical tool with datasets about Slovakia; iii) DEKK The Institute managed to establish stable partnerships with 5 analytical departments of the state.
The implementers of the project realized a Data Hackathon for young IT professionals, which was also supported by Mr. President of the Slovak Republic Zuzana Čaputová and the Government Office of the Slovak Republic. And thanks to the data from the WVS, together with Slovak and foreign experts, it was possible to publish a book on social cohesion in Slovakia (Cohesion in Slovakia. What holds the country together and what makes it fall apart?). At the same time, DEKK Institute has opened up new opportunities for partnerships and cooperation on research into the causes of the breakdown and regeneration of social cohesion in Slovak society. The project thus opened up the topic of research and regeneration of social cohesion in Slovakia for experts and the general public.
Summary of bilateral results
Cooperation was key in the analysis of the results of WVS and prof. F. LeRon Shults also became one of the authors of the contribution in the publication of the DEKK Institute on social cohesion in Slovakia. Thanks to the cooperation with the Department of Global Development and Planning, University of Agder, we had access to unique know-how, which was also beneficial for other activities of the DEKK Institute.The main results include support for the analysis of WVS results and other data in the context of the study of social cohesion in Slovak society, and thanks to the excellent cooperation on the already completed project, we plan to cooperate in other DEKK Institute activities as well.Long-term expertise of prof. Shults-a significantly helped to increase the quality of the outputs of the DEKK Institute.