The legal and social stance of non-state non-profit organizations in the context of an unusual situation in the Czech Republic
Authors:   Univerzita Jana Amose Komenského Praha s.r.o., Stárek Lukáš , Zpěvák Aleš ,   Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague
Published: May 2023

Introduction. A person is forced every day to expend significant will to figure out diverse life situations. Often difficult situations occur that a person cannot manage on their own. A situation's sudden appearance and extemporaneousness can negatively influence an individual, their family, community, and broader social circle. This simplification can define an unusual situation. Unusual situations can cause to involved people a certain level of affliction. Nevertheless, over time humankind developed instincts for how to ease, eliminate, or avoid these situations. So, whether we talk about help from neighbours or professional services, it still helps people. One type of help in these unusual situations is non-profit organisations. Study participants and methods. The main aim of this research was to find out and describe how chosen non-profit organisations in the Czech Republic prepared for unusual situations. Further, we researched the involvement of nonprofit organisations in education about unusual situations. As a method, we decided to carry out structured interviews with two workers from two non-profit organisations well known throughout the whole Czech Republic. In unusual situations, the participants were chosen deliberately concerning their job position – humanitarian aid in the Czech Republic. Regarding the established research goal, we decided on qualitative research – specifically, the interview method. Therefore, we conducted five semi-structured interviews with which the respondents agreed to be shared for the research. All interviews were recorded, and respondents knew about that and agreed with it. The outcome for every involved company was the creation of a SWOT analysis. Results. Based on the findings, we can claim that non-state non-profit organisations have a crucial role in managing floods. Similarly, as during any other unusual situation, these non-state non-profit organisations bring to the affected areas some extra resources. Plus, they function as a mediator through which any gifts from people. Also, in some situations, their reactions and aid are more operative and flexible than help from state organisations. Therefore, all non-state non-profit organisations involved in this research are well prepared for unusual situations. However, each organisation provides different support during an unusual situation. Therefore, all mentioned organisations cannot be involved similarly. The concrete result for each company is provided in the SWOT analysis. Practical significance. The qualitative research was conducted via interviews with specialists who orient in this area, and from them arise that non-state non-profit organisations are crucial in managing unusual situations. The concrete roles are these three. The first role is compensation which replaces state failure. This is done by delegating specific duties via a legal agreement between non-profit organisations which are able and willing to help. This compensation is intentional. Another identified role is the complementary role which is a cooperation between non-state non-profit organisations and state organisations or state aid systems. Finally, the last role is closely linked with the second role, which is the mediator's role. This role is responsible for delivering and distributing gifts and additional resources from people. Keywords: Czech Republic, legislation, non-state non-profit organisation, unusual situation