Corporate social responsibility in public administration. Case of Polish central administrative institutions

Abstract

The article aims to show that, currently, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) shall not be associated solely with business, but has been successfully absorbed in public administration. Theoreticians' views as to the possibility (or even necessity) of applying the concept of social responsibility in public administration are confirmed by the activities of public administration institutions at the central level in Poland. The subjects of the study were manifestations of the implementation of the CSR concept on two levels: 1) policy planning (based on the example of selected key strategic documents in the field of development policy from the last decade) and 2) operational activities of public administration. The article analyses the database on Good CSR Practices of Public Administration, gathered at the forum of the Working Group on Corporate Social Responsibility of Public Administration, operating at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy since 2018. The article also presents pioneering CSR reports published by three central public administrative institutions, whose representatives participated in the work of the group. The results of the analysis of the database and reports lead to the conclusion that, in Poland, the concept of CSR at the central administration level is implemented by institutions, although only occasionally reported. CSR should be considered an inherent part of modern public governance models constituting the paradigm of public administration activity.