Socialinių inovacijų doktorantūros mokykla / Social Innovations Doctoral School

As life expectancy increases, societies need to implement strategies that support healthy ageing in place. Community mobility is a vital part of this, as older adults need access to healthcare, shops, and local amenities to maintain their health, independence, and social engagement. Aim: The COST Action BOPALIM (Building Opportunities for Participation and Accessibility through Lifelong Community Mobility) aims to create a framework to guide European and country-specific efforts related to the provision of accessible and user-friendly transport options for older adults. Method: Subtask 3.3 has collected case studies from COST Action members regarding appropriate and affordable public transport solutions under the umbrella of community mobility. These case studies were synthesised to create 5–10 vignettes, combining narrative and thematic approaches. Preliminary findings: The collected case studies address themes related to the usability, safety, and accessibility of public transport. They also explore how technological advancements can function either as additional barriers or as practical solutions for participation, often embedded within broader political issues such as cost and environmental concerns. These findings are consistent with the literature review but add a more nuanced understanding of contextual factors and personal experiences of mobility issues of older adults in Europe and beyond.

The concept of co-governance is understood as a way to build trust in government and to increase public involvement. It should lead to improvements of public services and solve wicked problems related to service provision. However, the idea of co-governance itself requires the sharing and devolution of decisionmaking power, which becomes challenging in relation to the public sector's role, their willingness to retain control, and at the same time – seeking to engage citizens. Although the aim of national strategies in Lithuania is to involve NGOs more actively in service provision, this can be challenging given the diverse characteristics, capacities, and expectations of stakeholders. Furthermore, municipalities are responsible for ensuring the provision of social services and are under pressure to guarantee their availability and quality. The case study of Marijampolė municipality was chosen as an example for analysis because it has one of the highest demands for social services in Lithuania and experience of transferring service provision to NGOs. In this context, this study aims to analyse the shifting boundary between the state and civil society in the context of public service provision. To achieve this aim, the following tasks have been set: 1. Examine the theoretical assumptions and changes in cooperation between the public sector and NGOs. 2. Identify the current cooperation between NGOs and the Marijampolė municipality in the field of service provision. 3. Provide scientific insights into the conditions necessary for co-governance of social services. The case study was conducted in several stages. First, the scientific literature, legal acts and other documents related to the research problem were analysed. Then, a qualitative study was conducted, including interviews and focus groups with representatives of the Marijampolė municipality and NGOs.

The efficiency and quality of healthcare services increasingly depend on the application of advanced governance, risk management, and control models. Internal audit, when conducted in line with international professional standards, has the potential to act not only as a control mechanism but also as a strategic partner contributing to organizational resilience and value creation. In 2024, The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) introduced the Global Internal Audit Standards, strengthening the emphasis on professionalism, independence, competence, and strategic alignment of the internal audit function across all sectors, including the public healthcare system. This article examines the challenges of applying these global standards within the Lithuanian healthcare sector, focusing on a specific regulatory requirement that mandates medical or health sciences education for the head of internal audit (the so-called internal medical audit). Through a systematic analysis of the Global Internal Audit Standards, national legislation on public sector internal audit, and sector-specific regulations issued by the Ministry of Health, the study identifies a fundamental normative tension between international audit professionalism and sectoral qualification restrictions. The article argues that internal audit effectiveness derives primarily from professional audit competencies, independence, and risk-based methodologies rather than from subject-specific clinical education. Drawing on an analogy with information technology audits, the analysis demonstrates that complex, knowledge-intensive sectors can be audited effectively through professional internal auditors who engage subject matter experts without compromising objectivity. The findings suggest that the current regulatory model risks professional isolation of healthcare auditors, reduced audit value, weakened organizational resilience, and inefficient allocation of scarce healthcare resources. The article concludes that aligning national healthcare audit regulation with the Global Internal Audit Standards would strengthen governance, enhance risk management, and enable internal audit to function as an integral component of professional management and innovation within healthcare institutions.

Kasmet į Lietuvą studijuoti atvyksta šimtai jaunų žmonių iš įvairių pasaulio šalių. Jie čia praleidžia kelerius metus – mokosi, susiranda draugų, pažįsta miestus ir kultūrą. Tačiau baigę studijas dauguma jų išvyksta.

This article examines how India’s draft Digital Competition Bill (DCB), read alongside India’s investment treaty landscape, can create a fresh layer of regulatory uncertainty for large technology investors. It explains why the DCB is being positioned as a distinct instrument, rather than a subset of the proposed Digital India Act or the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and identifies an early friction point: an ex-ante competition design, built around data portability and continuing access, can sit uneasily with a consent-based privacy framework. The analysis then places the DCB within the policy arc that followed the Standing Committee of Finance report and the Committee on Digital Competition Law deliberations. It asks whether India’s ersatz adaptation of the European’s framework employing the spaghetti bowl effect as a framing device. The article maps the most plausible investment treaty claim pathways if the DCB comes into force, including FET arguments tied to legitimate expectations and transparency, and indirect expropriation concerns linked to operational control over data and platform conduct, as well as, Section 38 and its exemption power, and its implications on equal treatment debates and carve out risks. The article concludes that The DCB’s objectives and boundaries need sharper articulation, and the more durable response lies in clearer right to regulate language and disciplined carve outs.

Lietuva jau ne vienerius metus aktyviai konkuruoja dėl tarptautinių studentų. Universitetai sėkmingai pritraukia jaunuolius iš Azijos, Afrikos, Rytų Europos ir kitų regionų – jie studijuoja, įgyja kvalifikaciją, pažįsta vietos rinką. Tačiau verslui šis potencialas dažnai taip ir netampa realia nauda: baigę studijas, didžioji dalis užsienio absolventų Lietuvą palieka.