Mapping a Brighter Future: Insights from the Places to Grow ECD Mapping Project
As part of its Joint Action Fund*, Places to Grow (P2G)** is working on an Early Childhood Development (ECD) Ecosystem Mapping project based in the Banská Bystrica region in Slovakia. For an overview of the project, read our introductory article here.
As we are now eight months into the project, we decided it would be an ideal moment to interview a few of the key point people. We interviewed Milan Kajo Zbořil and Zuzana Sojková. Milan is the Social Services and Planning Coordinator for the regional government office. Zuzana is the Head of Teacher Support for the Department of Education in the Banská Bystrica regional government office.
We have included a condensed version of these conversations below. Please note that some texts have been abbreviated or adjusted with Zuzana and Milan’s permission.
What intrigues you about this project?
Milan: For me, it’s interesting to use this new approach — a new model for collecting data that we already have, must find, or ask other institutions to provide. Graphic mapping is a great tool. It should be easy to navigate and easy to read. Instead of boring Excel sheets or written information, this information is redesigned into a user-friendly map format. It also brings attention to those different groups who may benefit from the project.
Zuzana: Originally, our goal in my office was to map all of these opportunities for kids from six years and older. Then, we realised there was a potential to connect it with Holis’ project. We now realise that it would be possible to have data and a whole overview of the situation from childbirth through university if we connect our data with that of Holis. That is a massive thing that could significantly affect everything we do, talk about, and how we talk about it. The impact is certainly plausible. I was instantly inspired and wanted to be part of this.
Why work and invest in a project like this?
Milan: As an office of the regional government, we would like to provide as much help, assistance, and advice to people in need, especially families with small kids. This mapping is helping us collect information about different kinds of social services and providers in our region, and we are happy to share this information with the general public. This mapping is helping us, as the office is assisting the other providers in building better, more robust networks. It also assists the general public with all the necessary information they can find in one space.
Zuzana: My greatest motivation is that I’ve always been frustrated by the longstanding tradition in Slovak public space that everybody does only what their job title or scope is. This is fine in the case of your competencies but not acceptable in how you think about problems and root causes and fix the issues — especially if you are talking about child development, education, and care.
It’s crazy that people don’t collaborate on this topic. Unfortunately, so far, my experience has been that people are very transactional about it or guard the boundaries or scopes of their functions and organisations.
From the beginning of this project with Holis, it was apparent that everybody at the table was looking for the most holistic and complex solutions to our issues. It was all about how we could best change this or contribute to changing this problem and come up with the best solutions and collaborations.
It’s been constantly stressed that we’re looking for a sample we’ll be using. So it does not end up as some PDF report that will be only one-time effective and on some website where nobody will ever find it, but it’s something that we want people to use and assist them in their work continually. That’s my biggest motivation.
Why is this project important? Why should we put time and energy into this project?
Milan: It’s important because we see a big difference between towns and rural areas of our region — especially in terms of the information available. Living in our regional town, Banská Bystrica, I can say that finding the information I may need, such as some social service for my family, is no big problem. I can reach out to different offices, different institutions, and different NGOs. But living in a small rural area, far away, and without easy public transportation, it’s a challenge. I may or may not have access to the Internet in some of these remote areas. Still, at least in the local village offices, the municipality offices should have access to the Internet–so if I’m going to my local municipality, I can find information there.
This initiative is helping overcome this gap in information accessibility.
Zuzana: My biggest aspiration is to do as much as possible for every child in our region to have the best possible options and support to succeed as much in life as possible. That’s why I’m doing this job: because I want exponential growth from where we are now to where we need to be. I feel so strongly that we need to do something because wherever you look, it’s awful. I’m not happy that my country is looking this way, so my job is to help make it as good as possible.
I really do think that all of the issues we’re talking about are fixable. It’s not like this is a patient with a terminal disease. It’s all about what solutions you bring to the table and how well we implement them. If we work together and try our best, we will find something that improves the whole issue, creating better numbers, situations, and outcomes.
How has this project evolved since the beginning? What has instigated these changes?
Milan: Things have changed since the beginning. The project results can be used by different groups or stakeholders, including us or some other public institutions, because we are also trying to get information about the needs of families in the region. This is not one-way communication; we provide information, but also it is important for us to get information. What are the needs? What are the problems, or where is it not good enough? What is the capacity of needed services, specifically in rural areas?
We also adjusted the target group to include not only the people coming to the municipalities but also the policymakers. The goal is to make it easier to access all this information in one place.
Zuzana: I have to give massive props to Holis for what they’ve achieved in such a short time. When I first saw their work, my jaw dropped. Normally, progress is slow, complicated, and bureaucratic in the public sector in Slovakia, and there are many unclear meetings and roadblocks to navigate. However, Holis has been a breath of fresh air in this regard.
Since March (when I joined the project), we have very effectively agreed on the scope and kind of data we need, and everybody has contributed. We were presented with the prototype, which was very nice and aesthetically pleasing, with many functions that were already super impressive, intuitive, and helpful for my job at the very minimum. I’m pretty sure that they will be beneficial for many people. It wasn’t that you needed a 100-page manual where you had to look for the answers and maintenance and blah, blah, blah. Instead, it was to filter this data with this information, and then you have everything right on the map.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to use it. So anybody, even a parent without a high-school degree or public officials who just need to access it quickly, can get this information. That is a massive outcome in just three months — very impressive!
What has been the most surprising part of this process?
Milan: It can be surprising that we (in our office and other institutions) don’t have specific data for certain municipalities. The available data is only on the level of the region or Slovakia. So, in some areas, it is challenging to provide more specific, more focused assistance because we don’t have proper data or statistics for these municipalities or counties.
Zuzana: Everyone’s level of collaboration and professionalism has been remarkable. Our focus has been on delivering the best outcomes and making the most effective use of our time. I’ve learned a lot, felt truly inspired, and have grown as a person. Everyone I interacted with demonstrated the highest and best behaviour to me. I aspire to bring this level of quality work to the people around me within this project.
Could you share any takeaways from this project so far?
Milan: Yeah, when we first discussed the project at the beginning of the year, it looked like a nice new idea. But as we talked in our office, we realised how some colleagues from different institutions and we can use this tool.
I’m looking forward to having it as a final version. I believe we can use, maintain, and offer it to other colleagues in other regions of Slovakia. So, I’m thrilled that Holis approached us, and we are doing this project together.
Zuzana: One of my favourite quotes is, “You never fight the existing reality. You just come up with a solution that makes the old system obsolete.” I think this is precisely what’s happening here within this project. We did not have to discuss what works with data or how we currently work with public resources. It’s terrible — there is no system at all. We just created something that has made the old models obsolete. Everyone can now benefit from it.
A plus is that everyone can see that we can do better and that it’s not rocket science. No one will say, “We have to go back to the old system, manual filtering databases and trying to build models ad hoc.” Now, everyone says, “Why don’t we integrate more models, like within one system where everyone can see and work with it.”
This effectively changes the situation because nobody wants to return to the old way. Everybody will try to progress in this way. This is a new standard, and that’s super cool. It gives me more hope.
Holis and Places to Grow are in the process of conducting this project and will present their findings at the P2G conference in Prague in November 2024. If you are interested in what we do or want to join Places to Grow, please contact info@placestogrow.eu and consider registering for our P2G Conference in Prague on November 14th, where we will also present this project.
*In 2024, Places to Grow launched the Joint Action Fund. This grant scheme fosters innovation, learning, and cross-sectoral collaboration aiming for systemic change in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. This flagship initiative is designed to strengthen cooperation among Places to Grow partners and other relevant stakeholders, therefore contributing to creating a robust and evolving ECD ecosystem. It consists of financial and non-financial support and incorporates knowledge-sharing with the community of practice.
**Places to Grow, a catalyst for excellence in early childhood development (ECD), education, and care in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia, strengthens relationships between organisations active in social services, education, advocacy, and research.
