The Poland’s Acts on Commune Self-Government and Voivodeship Self-Government regulate the procedure for preparing development strategies for these tiers of government and specify their required content. The Act on County Self-Government, however, remains silent on county development strategies… This does not mean that a county strategy is unnecessary. The Act on the Principles of Development Policy explicitly identifies county self-government as one of the entities responsible for conducting development policy and a development strategy as one of its most important instruments. It also requires the preparation of a strategy to be preceded by an appropriate diagnostic assessment of the county’s social, economic, spatial, and climate and environmental situation.

The authorities of Mikołów County are aware of these provisions. What motivates them most in their work on the new strategy, however, is the intention to use it on a day-to-day basis as their principal development management tool. The process therefore began with extensive strategic workshops lasting as many as 9 days

The workshops brought together approximately 80 public decision-makers and managers: members of the County Council and County Executive Board, heads of departments at the County Office in Mikołów, as well as directors, managers, and specialists from all county institutions. Mayors and commune heads from the municipalities within the county, together with their deputies, also took part The county strategy will encompass extensive cooperation among local governments, enabling them to address major challenges such as the economic transformation of Upper Silesia, population ageing, the development of modern infrastructure, and civil protection.

It was both a pleasure and an honour for me to lead these exceptionally successful workshops. I would like to thank Mr Mirosław Duży, Head of Mikołów County; Mr Jarosław Sworzeń, Deputy Head of Mikołów County; Ms Grażyna Nazar, Member of the County Executive Board; and all the participants.

These were 50 highly valuable hours of intensive work, in-depth discussions, and crucial decisions about what the county government will do over the coming decade.