Mgr. Radka Vladyková graduated from the Metropolitan University in Prague with a degree in European Studies and Public Administration, which she has pursued in her professional life. She served as the Mayor of Jesenice. Since 2019, she has been the Executive Director of the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic.
Cyber protection was often at the bottom of capital expenditure in local government. Is this different today, and what is the awareness?
The events of the last two years associated with the shift of work to the online environment are clearly turning the rudder of the priorities of cities and municipalities towards the need for quality computer technology and its security. Unfortunately, even local governments are not exempt from cyberattacks. We have already had cases where the operation of an authority has been paralysed for several days. The Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic is, among other things, intensively involved in setting up security measures for the use of computer technology and digitisation of offices in its projects. When acquiring any new technology, we instruct municipalities to consider the risks associated with the digital world and to think about their technical and software security. The training focused on digital skills and safety when using digital technologies is an integral part of our work.
Women and men in town halls are like company managers. They look for innovative approaches in times of crisis. Where is local government management going today?
It is clearly about self-sufficiency and long-term financial sustainability of the city’s operations, which is part of sustainable development. Everyone is looking for quality and cost-effective solutions. Fortunately, the adage “we will buy anything, as long as it is cheap” no longer applies. Quality is coming to the fore, and the level of future longterm operating costs is an essential element in local government decisionmaking. Another important factor is the usefulness of the new technology or whether the purchase meets the goal of the city or municipality. Everyone, including cities, will have to start saving money. Their decision-making will be significantly more careful, and the emphasis on the sum of all 3Es (efficient, eff ective and economical) will be even greater.
Regarding energy management and its contribution to energy savings in municipalities and cities, is there room for partnership with the private sector?
The money from the European Union and the state for municipalities will slowly end, and today’s times are already showing this clearly. Involving partnerships and cooperation between the private and public sectors will be the only way to ensure the long-term development and functioning of towns and cities. Joint investments in energy, waste-to-energy, low-cost and low-carbon transport come into consideration for this kind of financing.
Resilience is becoming a hot topic in public administration. How resilient and flexible are local governments in responding to potential threats?
Today, the uniqueness of this country, which lies in a large number of municipalities and towns and their ability to come together in regional functional units in which they work together, is becoming apparent. Decision-making on local issues close to the people is the crucial element that makes it possible to deal promptly and effi ciently with sudden situations. In the context of cooperation in larger regional units, collaboration and transfer of experience are really valuable. If one mayor or governor succeeds in solving a problem, others can be quickly inspired. Conversely, if one regional politician fails, the country will not collapse. Naturally, this way, everything that supports society’s resilience is fulfilled — a resilient unit of society which is able to name a problem, quickly find a solution to it and implement it. To cooperate with the environment, for which it is a good partner and neighbour. A resilient state will ithstand incoming threats to the extent that any municipality or county can. The central management of a large entity does not have the necessary fl exibility to respond and, by definition, cannot. It can, however, create sufficient space and support for local decision-making.
Thank you for the interview.
