Communication Strategy of Local Governments and Civic Participation (Focus on the City of Jirkov)

The bachelor thesis combines the general theory of communication strategies and civic participation with the specific case of the city of Jirkov – this ensures the practical applicability of the results. The thesis includes a questionnaire survey among citizens and residents of the city, provides data to validate the research questions and supports the relevance of the conclusions. The thesis can serve the management of the city of Jirkov as feedback on the effectiveness of communication with the public, and thus possibly help to improve the existing communication strategy and improve communication through communication channels. The practical part of the thesis analyses the civic participation project – an outdoor rehabilitation site within the project “Jirkov for ourselves”, this provides a valuable and concrete insight into the functioning of civic participation in practice. The author also presents possibilities for extending the research. The bachelor thesis shows that more than 75 % of respondents are interested in what is happening in the city of Jirkov, more than 90 % of citizens also know about the existence of communication channels of the city – the most famous is internet communication. The most frequently used channels are the website and the Jirkovské noviny. Citizens most often search for information about current events and culture on them. There were very few critical comments about the city's communication with the public – this indicates the overall satisfaction of respondents. The research questions set before the survey are largely confirmed.