The idea of issuing a Mazovian journal was born in 2005. During the 1st Mazovian Forum, which took place on 26th April 2005, the Marshal of the Mazovian Voivodeship, Adam Struzik, pointed out the need for cooperation between the Mazovian regional self-government and the scientific community. It was then that the idea of issuing a journal to disseminate the achievements of Mazovian scientists and to address issues related to Mazovia emerged. The idea was put into practice by Professor Zbigniew Strzelecki, Ph.D., the Office Director of the Mazovian Office of Spatial Planning and Regional Development in Warsaw, who later became the first Editor in chief of the journal. As early as October that year, the Voivodeship Government made a decision to establish a scientific periodical under the name of “Mazovian Studies”. Unfortunately, it was impossible to register the so-called journal, as it has already being issuing by a private university in Mazovia. The decision to change the name of the periodical to “MAZOVIA Regional Studies” was thus made. As a result, on 19th December 2005, the Regional Council of the Mazovian Voivodeship passed a Resolution on the Change of the Bylaw of the Mazovian Office of Spatial Planning and Regional Development in Warsaw, by virtue of which the Office became the Publisher of the journal, and the Office Director – Editor in chief. In 2006, by virtue of the Resolution of the Regional Council of the Mazovian Voivodeship, the name of the Office was changed into Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw, a name which still remains in force today. On 9th October 2007, the “MAZOVIA Regional Studies” was entered in the Court Register of Journals and Periodicals held by the District Court for Warszawa-Praga in Warsaw, 3rd Civil Division, under No. Pr.1968.
The first volume of the journal “MAZOVIA Regional Studies” was printed at the end of 2008.
Although it was initially planned that “MAZOVIA Regional Studies” would be issued as a quarterly, for the first few years it was published in a biannual cycle, which resulted in the magazine having to be reregistered as early as 2008. The plans were finally finalised in 2017 and, since then, four issues per year have been issuing regularly.
In 2012, due to a change of the registered office of the Publisher and Editorial Office, the journal underwent reregistration. “MAZOVIA Regional Studies” was entered in the Court Register of Journals and Periodicals held by the District Court in Warsaw, 7th Civil Division, under No. Pr.18297.
In the same year, the journal was included in Part B of the list of scientific journals held on the basis of the Ordinance of the Minister of Science and Higher Education on the Criteria and Procedures for Awarding Scientific Categories to Scientific Units of 13th July 2012.
In 2015, the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw joined the Publishers International Linking Association Inc. (PILA) and received a DOI (digital object identifier) number. Since then, all published articles have been receiving a unique digital object identifier, which guarantees durability and provides a permanent link despite changes in metadata or in the location of files.
“MAZOVIA Regional Studies” is also entered in the ISSN register held by the Department of Journals of the National Library of Poland, under No. ISSN 1689-4774. The online editions have ISSN 2543-4373.
Changes in subject matter of the journal
“MAZOVIA Regional Studies” was created to promote the effects of the work of Mazovian scientific centres, the achievements of researchers from the Mazovia region and the publications of research results pertaining to Mazovia development. Originally, the subject matter of the materials was approached freely, i.e. it was sufficient to link the authors or the issue, which they were discussing, to the Mazovian Voivodeship. Since 2014, due to the specific nature of the Publisher and his/her specialisation in spatial planning and regional development, the subject matter of the materials has been focused on public policy sciences, a discipline belonging to the field of social sciences, officially recognised in Poland since 1st October 2011. Over the years, however, it has been recognised that the narrowing of the subject matter and subject area hinders the journal development, given the diversity of topics related to regional policy.
Currently, the periodical covers a wide range of comparative studies and analyses, including both Mazovia and the remaining regions of Poland, Europe, as well as other regions of the Earth, pursuant to the subtitle, i.e. REGIONAL STUDIES. The journal presents, among others, case studies aimed at identifying good practice, benchmarks in the field of regional policy and the research and development sphere, and it thus has not only scientific research values but also implementation values. Although the main title of the journal, i.e. MAZOVIA, may suggest otherwise, the content is not limited to issues concerning only the Mazovian Voivodeship.
The structure of the “MAZOVIA Regional Studies” is divided in three sections: I. Analyses and Studies, containing peer reviewed scientific articles; II. Self-government, containing articles associated with activities undertaken by self-governments; and III. Miscellaneous, containing short review materials.
The texts are published in Polish with abstracts in English; although occasionally in the first issues the titles were also in English. Since 2015, the most interesting articles of a given year have been translated and issued in an English volume and additionally presented during the “European Week of Regions and Cities” event, taking place yearly in October in Brussels. Originally, within the year, 3 Polish volumes and 1 English volume were published. Since 2021, besides 4 Polish volumes, the English volume “MAZOVIA Regional Studies” Special Edition has been issuing with numbering distinct from the Polish volume.
Editors in chief
The honourable function of the first Editor in chief of the periodical “MAZOVIA Regional Studies” was performed Professor Zbigniew Strzelecki, Ph.D., then Office Director of the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw and Head of the Department of Regional and Spatial Development at the Collegium of Socio-Economics of the Warsaw School of Economics in Warsaw. It was largely due to the Professor’s initiative and efforts that the journal was brought into existence.
In January 2016, the task of Editor in chief was entrusted to Adriana Barbara Cieślak, Ph.D., Eng. of Architecture, then Head of the planning team at the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environmental Engineering of the Łódź University of Technology.
Continuously, since 2018, the Editor in chief of the periodical has been Professor Krzysztof Opolski, Ph.D., from the Academic Department of Management and Information Technology of the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the University of Warsaw. Professor Opolski specialises in management in the public sector, as well as in financial institutions and enterprises, banking and finance, competitiveness and marketing.