Public administration in the face of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experience of the Małopolska Centre for Entrepreneurship in the implementation of the Małopolska Anti-Crisis Shield

Abstract

The primary goal of this article is to examine the challenges faced by public administration and enterprises as they grappled with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective is the presentation of a new attitude to the project management in a self-government entity. These goals were achieved due to the presentation of the latest experience of the Małopolska Centre for Entrepreneurship during the implementation of the Małopolska Anti-Crisis Shield. The authors deployed in this article different techniques. The main method was a participant observation directed by the authors and a case study. The authors’ attention was focused primarily on the implementation by this public institution of the so-called “Entrepreneurship Package”. The "Entrepreneurship Package" was a component of the Małopolska Anti-Crisis Shield and was targeted specifically at entrepreneurs from the SME sector who suffered as a result of the introduction of the lockdown. For the purposes of this case study, previously unpublished data collected by the employees of the Małopolska Centre for Entrepreneurship were used. The main conclusion of this article is that public intervention was necessary to rescue a lot of small and medium enterprises during the pandemic time, but the public money should hit the target. In this context, it means that the biggest support should be directed at some enterprises who had serious economic problems, but despite that they want to provide for their workers.