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Mitigation of the impact of disasters and increasing resilience represent an inseparable part of the competitiveness of regions that cannot be implemented without a necessary resource framework. The paper focuses on the issue of financing individual phases of disaster management at the level of regions in the Czech conditions. The article is based on the assumption that public authorities do not systematically plan funds for dealing with crisis situations in the expenditure part of the budget, thereby not supporting the structural and functional conditions of territorial attractiveness, security and sustainability. The aim of the article is to propose a unique calculation of the minimum fund allocation for individual phases of disaster risk reduction at the regional level. The calculation concept is based on the value of the property owned by the region, the number of crisis situations predicted in the region, the number of crisis situations predicted in the Czech Republic, the administrative territory of the region and the total expenditures of the regional budget. The article presents a specific national approach to the public fund allocation to the individual disaster risk management phases, providing competitive administration and progressive and resilient development of the region. Based on the originally elaborated calculation, a comparative analysis of the expenditure part of 13 regional budgets for the 2013– 2019 period was performed. The premise on the insufficient financing of disaster management was confirmed, although the Crisis Management Act imposes this obligation. The results showed that the most underfunded area was the implementation phase.

Background : The St. Louis Komen Project was conceived to address disparities in breast cancer treatment and outcomes between African-American and White women in St. Louis, Missouri. Our goal was to apportion tasks and funding through a process to which all researcher partners had input and to which all could agree, thus eliminating institutionalized inequalities. Methods : This paper describes the collaborative process and resulting division of responsibilities, determination of costs, and ultimate allocation of funds and resources, as well as the documentation employed to achieve funding reciprocity and equal accountability. Results : Both communication and documentation are critical. Although the Memoranda of Understanding employed are not a panacea, they codify roles and expectations and promote trust. The process of developing financial transparency set the tone for subsequent steps in the research process. Conclusions : The exhaustive planning process and project-specific procedures developed by its partners have helped the project foster reciprocity, facilitate participation, and equitably distribute resources.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to look at adequacy or inadequacy of budgets for University of Malawi Libraries (UML) from financial years 2004 to 2009.Design methodology approach - A case study design was used to collect quantitative data. University budget estimate from 2003 2004 to 2009 2010 financial years were used.Findings - The results of the study show that of five constituent colleges of the University of Malawi, four (80 per cent) of their college libraries are inadequately funded below 6 per cent. The average funding as a percentage of the total college funding for the five UML in the six-year financial period from 2004 to 2010 are as follows: Bunda College Library 2.7 per cent; Chancellor College Library 3.72 per cent; College of Medicine Library 3.52 per cent; Kamuzu College of Nursing Library 6.27 per cent; and the Polytechnic Library 3.43 per cent. Only Kamuzu College of Nursing Library received a minimum average of 6 per cent of the total college funding.Practical implications - The study recommends that college librarians should lobby for increased budgets for UML. College librarians should also consider income-generating activities as a means to supplement funding through government subvention.Originality value - There is very little researched information on inadequacy or adequacy of budgeting and funding on UML. This research adds some information on UML budgeting and financing.

Strategic purchasing of health services involves a continuous search for the best ways to maximize health system performance by deciding which interventions should be purchased, from whom these should be purchased, and how to pay for them. In such an arrangement, the passive cashier is replaced by an intelligent purchaser that can focus scarce resources on existing and emerging priorities rather than continuing entrenched historical spending patterns. Having experimented with different ways of paying providers of health care services, countries increasingly want to know not only what to do when paying providers, but also how to do it, particularly how to design, manage, and implement the transition from current to reformed systems. 'Designing and Implementing Health Care Provider Payment Systems: How-To Manuals' addresses this need. The book has chapters on three of the most effective provider payment systems: primary care per capita (capitation) payment, case-based hospital payment, and hospital global budgets. It also includes a primer on a second policy lever used by purchasers, namely, contracting. This primer can be especially useful with one provider payment method: hospital global budgets. The volume's final chapter provides an outline for designing, launching, and running a health management information system, as well as the necessary infrastructure for strategic purchasing.

Purpose - The article's aim is to illustrate why a library might compile a list of desired purchases.Design methodology approach - This is an opinion piece.Findings - In these tight budget times, having a current wish list is vital; if an unexpected windfall appears, a library should have priorities in order.Research limitations implications - Areas of further study might include how or if libraries collaborate with academic departments to compile priority wish lists, and using sales representatives as library marketing to academic departments.Practical implications - Determining a way to keep priority purchasing lists visible is important.Originality value - The article offers some ideas for a librarian compiling a wish list of resources.

Many academic libraries use formulas to allocate book funds among departments or subject areas. Consequently, dozens of published articles and reports have appeared on the topic of formula-based fund allocation. Unfortunately, every previous strategy for fund allocation requires a set of weights or allocations that can be used as a starting point. Likewise, regression-based methods require a set of current, past, or hypothetical allocations from which a formula can be derived. This article presents a theoretically grounded method of developing a fund allocation formula that does not rely on the initial estimation of weights or allocations. This method is likely to be especially useful for libraries that have never used fund allocation formulas - those that have no prior basis for rating the importance of particular subject areas, departments, or variables. Adapted from the source document.

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to present the initiatives that libraries and information services should take from the standpoint of management or services in times of economic crisis or recession such as the one currently occurring. When budget cuts, downsizing and cuts in equipment are continuous, it is important to reflect on the path that each library should take to overcome the crisis while providing users the services they require.Design methodology approach - There are projects internationally, including, inter alia, Pulman and Calimera, which highlight the supportive role of lifelong training, of both formal and informal education and of the libraries' contribution to social and economic development. They even claim that along with archives and museums, libraries should collaborate in developing a strong local economy by supporting local businesses and industry in different ways (offering information services, stimulating the acquisition of basic skills and providing career guidance). Logically, the public library is not the only - and may not even be the principal agent or the one most associated with this problem - which can address job insecurity, economic hardship and people's need for training. However, in the author's view it can have a significant and active role, in coordination with other agents, and it is important to take advantage of its potential: its collections, the training of its staff members, its familiarity with the everyday life of towns and cities, its openness to everyone without any preconditions, etc.Findings - In recent years some libraries have seen their financial resources reduced, or have remained stagnant in face of an increased demand for service. A first consideration in this context, which might be very hard but is unavoidable when faced with such a reality, is the need to rethink which services to keep and which to reduce or cancel if there is insufficient funding. At times it is necessary to choose what to do without.Originality value - Public libraries are increasingly becoming more of a social space where all people can go for information, learning and culture, regardless of their age, level, training or background. The library as a resource, which in many cases is public, and which enables individuals to enjoy their right to information should be defended to the fullest in times such as these. Also, to the greatest extent possible, libraries should be used in a compensatory manner, targeting people with fewer resources who are in need of skills that enable them to return to the workplace or reduce the consequences of lack of income.

Purpose - This article's aim is to provide insights into issues encountered in maintaining library technologies on a limited budget and with limited personnel.Design methodology approach - The article uses real world experiences to provide commentary on decision-making practices as they relate to discontinuing library services under increasingly tight budget constraints.Findings - Librarians' strong service ethic is both a benefit and a detriment. In their efforts to serve all, they often stretch thin the human, financial, and temporal resources, thereby adversely affecting the most valuable services.Originality value - The article uses real-world examples to provide critical commentary on the decision-making process as it relates to continuing discontinuing library services and resources.

While nearly half of all academic libraries use formulas to allocate firm order funds on behalf of particular departments or subject areas, few have adopted systematic methods of selecting or weighting the variables. This paper reviews the literature on library fund allocation, then presents a statistically informed method of weighting and combining the variables in a fund allocation formula. The regression-based method of fund allocation uses current, historical, or hypothetical allocations to generate a formula that excludes the influence of non-relevant variables as well as the influence of arbitrary or non-systematic variations in funding. The resulting fund allocations are based on the principle of equity-the idea that departments with the same characteristics should receive the same allocations. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

In many developing countries less than half the population has access to formal financial services, and in most of Africa less than one in five households has access. Lack of access to finance is often the critical mechanism for generating persistent income inequality, as well as slower economic growth. Hence expanding access remains an important challenge across the world, leaving much for governments to do. However, not all government actions are equally effective and some policies can even be counterproductive. This paper sets out principles for effective government policy on broadening access, drawing on the available evidence and illustrating with examples. The paper concludes with directions for future research.