The aim of this article was to assess the efficiency of the utilization of public funds for climate neutrality. It was concluded that the data gathered in public statistics are not adapted to current challenges and hinder the direct measurement of climate policy objective implementation progress. Due to that, an innovative approach to public intervention efficiency analysis was proposed for the sake of decreasing CO₂ emission in 27 European Union (EU) countries, based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method and soft modeling. Statistical data are derived from the Eurostat database and pertain to the years 2005–2019. It was demonstrated that activity efficiency of the particular EU countries on climate neutrality varied and that together with the increase in public funds spent on environmental protection, the growth of effects in the field of reaching climate neutrality objectives was not observed. The greatest positive impact on achieving climate neutrality objectives was revealed for activities connected with building renewable sources of energy (RES) and there was no correlation detected for expenditures connected with transport infrastructure, which means that public funds used for their construction did not influence climate neutrality. It was established that, in the analyzed period, the decisions on allocating public funds were not taken on the basis of the expected amount of reduction in relation to the volume of outlays. In order to track the reasons for detected inefficiency, 52 projects were analyzed within the case study, which covered 3738 investments in the replacement of heating sources in one region of Poland. It was revealed that the efficiency of those investments varies; however, due to the full availability of data of the acquired results and outlays devoted to them, a synthetic index of efficiency measurement was established that presents the amount of CO₂ reduction for EUR 1. When comparing the analyses carried out on macro and micro scales, it was observed that on the scale of the EU, there is a lack of uniform measurements or benchmarks of projects in the field of CO₂ emissions reduction. Meanwhile, from the whole EU’s perspective, it should be reasonable to undertake projects with the highest economic efficiency, irrespective of political and geographical aspects. The results obtained should be utilized by decision-makers to elaborate reference methodologies and good practices in order to successfully implement climate objectives and especially the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). What should be established are universal, on the EU scale, measurements and rules for gathering and counting data as well as benchmarks for the particular project types.

Effective acquisition of funds, including European Union (EU) funds, designated for example, creating economic and social processes, may have a real impact on the elimination of the negative outcomes of the current position of the EU on the global scale. The aim of the research is to indicate the impact of spending funds from the Regional Operational Program of the Opolskie Voivodeship 2014–2020 (ROP OV) on a key macroeconomic area of the economy, i.e., the housing development sector in the region. The practical aim is to formulate recommendations and solutions that can offer guidelines for more effective spending of EU funds and their effect on the macroeconomic dimensions of the economy. The article proposes an innovative approach to linking EU payments in the region with the real estate market. The results of the research and the analyses made on this basis showed a positive impact of the payments made from the ROP OV on selected macroeconomic indicators, i.e., the number of permits issued for the construction of new apartments and the number of currently implemented housing investments. The obtained results should be used in the decision-making process at the level of regional and national authorities responsible for the payment of EU funds. In this article, prior to the research process, a literature review was made. It covered various aspects of the evolution and development of research in the area of regional development. The research process was based on innovative methods of time variability analysis, correlation between the investigated determinants and coherence analysis for the studied dimensions. Data on payments from the ROP OV concern the years 2015–2020.

The cognitive objective was to confirm the thesis that the sustainable development policy approach supports formulating the regional resilience action plan, while the practical purpose is to propose an original method for developing action plans in the area of creating and improving local resilience, which can be applied in regions that have previously sustainable development strategies and programmes. The sustainable development and integrated resilience approaches are being analysed at the regional level from different time perspectives: from the long run (strategy) to the short period (action plan). The main research methods included the expert method for identifying integrated resilience policy factors, multi-criteria evaluation of development projects based on resilience criteria, and a review of relevant literature. Because there is a gap in research and, therefore, application of resilient policy, the research undertaken is of significant importance from the point of identifying the integrated resilience policy model appropriate in the context of contemporary external threats. The practical outcome of the research is the authors’ model of resilience policy (action plan) of the regional economy using the sustainable development policy approach. The originality of the undertaken research lies in the formulation of the integrated resilience regional policy under the contemporary conditions of external threats.

Purpose: The purpose of our work is to propose a strategic model of smart specialization identification around the concept of regional knowledge and cognitive transfer (Double Helix Matrix, DHM). Design/Methodology/Approach: While operationalization of smart specialization-oriented policy is still rather limited because of the lack of agreed development policy tools, we proposed the DHM model developed in order to provide the implementation of regional smart specialization oriented strategy. The model has been statistically verified by multidimensional comparative analysis on the example of a chosen weak innovative emerging region in Poland (Opolskie). Findings: The proposed methodology let us to find the need of redefining the smart specialization concept as a part of regional innovation strategy. Practical Implications: The new approach to the regional innovation policy has been proposed.. The findings have been used to construct the regional policy directives for potential smart specializations development within 2027 perspective. Originality/Value: The new model to conduct regional innovation strategy for smart specialization has been proposed and verified on the example of the weak innovation region.

Purpose: Reports on non-financial data include elements identified in the structure of intellectual capital, whose proper valuation is a challenge for business. The purpose of this study is to show the legal framework of the analysis, reporting and valuation of intangible assets and practical applications of selected methods of intellectual capital valuation on the example of the brewing industry. Design/Methodology/Approach: The methods selected for the purposes of this case study are the market value to book value ratio, the calculated intangible value index, the Tobin's q ratio and the value-added intellectual coefficient. Calculations were made based on data from reports of a selected joint-stock company from the brewing industry. Findings: The carried out intellectual capital valuation has confirmed that applying only one valuation method does not give a fair view of intangible assets, and the lack of considering context in the valuation makes the obtained data lose its decision-making value. Practical Implications: A new approach to the process of intellectual capital valuation, based on long-term integration of selected valuation methods as well as on consideration the context of the analyzed numbers, has been proposed. Originality/Value: The results are original because they can be used to develop future intellectual capital valuation scenarios. They constitute a kind of "guide" for intellectual capital managers.

The purpose of the research is to formulate the proper policy model of identifying regional smart specialisations under conditions of current external risks and the related need to strengthen the resilience of the regional economy. The novel methodology for identifying and supporting sustainable smart specialisations is a significant factor of supporting the resilience of the regional economy. Logical, strategic and statistical analysis methods were used in the research. The main finding of the research is the author's model for identifying smart specialisations, complemented by the resilience criteria for regional economic development. The proposed procedure responds to contemporary external threats, including armed conflicts, accelerating climate change, mass migration, pandemics, and other challenges. The originality of this research is rooted in the development of a policy framework for identifying smart specialisation that fosters both integrated resilience (in the short run) and sustainable development (in the long run). This framework specifically aims to address the gap in current models for formulating regional resilience policies, with a particular focus on enhancing the economic resilience of regions to contemporary external threats.