OCTOBER 2025
Workshop with Focus Groups at the Technical Faculty in Bor
A workshop with focus groups was held at the Technical Faculty in Bor as part of the MINIPART project – Improving Participation in Spatial Planning of Mining Аrеаs, funded by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia through the PRISMA Program.
The event included work in six groups, each designed to represent segments of the population whose needs are often not separately addressed in spatial planning processes: women, youth, persons with disabilities, rural residents, ethnic minorities, and the elderly.
The aim of the workshop was to test methods developed within the MINIPART application, as well as to discuss and compare digital and analogue participation methods. Participants first worked individually within their respective groups and then jointly reflected on how these methods could be improved to better capture the needs of different population segments and to encourage broader public involvement in decision-making processes.
The MINIPART project team organised the event and ensured professional facilitation of all six focus groups, each of which was led by two moderators. The moderators included team members Dr. Tamara Maričić, Dr. Marijana Pantić, Prof. Dr. Milena Toković, Prof. Dr. Milovan Vuković, and M.A. Dušanka Milosavljević, as well as the project’s external collaborator Prof. Dr. Ana Perić. The team was supported by students from the University of Belgrade – the Faculty of Geography, Faculty of Philosophy, and Faculty of Architecture: M.A. Stefan Zdravković, М.А. Sandra Vukašinović, M.A. Vladimir Popović, M.A. Marko Petrović, M.A. Matij Mitrović, and Danica Stojanović.
The workshop brought together 26 participants and was conducted as a full-day event. Written and audio materials were collected and will be analysed during the forthcoming stages of the project.
On this occasion, members of the MINIPART team also met with the Dean of the Technical Faculty in Bor, Prof. Dr. Dejan Taničić, as well as with the technical service team of the Faculty, with whom they had previously been in telephone and electronic communication regarding the successful implementation of project activities.
This research was supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, #GRANT No 7598, MINIPART.
#prisma #fondzanauku #minipart #IAUS #IFDT #UBGEF #TFBor #Boliden
October 2025
Training for Focus Group Workshop
A training session was held at the Institute of Architecture and Urban & Spatial Planning of Serbia for members of the MINIPART team, IAUS research fellows, doctoral students from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Geography, Faculty of Philosophy and Faculty of Architecture, and external collaborators. The training aimed to prepare mediators for conducting a workshop and working with focus groups within one of the work packages of the MINIPART project – Improving Participation in Spatial Planning of Mining Areas, funded by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia under the PRISMA program.
The training was conducted by Dr. Marijana Pantić, leader of the Focus Groups work package, who introduced participants to the methodology, objectives, and procedures for implementing the focus groups method as one of the key instruments for collecting data on user experiences in applying various public participation methods in spatial planning.
This research was supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, #GRANT No 7598, MINIPART. #prisma #fondzanauku #minipart #IAUS #IFDT #UBGEF #TFBor #Boliden
June 2025
Training in MAXQDA Software for Data Analysis
As part of the regular activities of the MINIPART project, a two-day training session on qualitative and quantitative data analysis using MAXQDA software was held in early June at the premises of the Institute of Architecture and Urban & Spatial Planning of Serbia (IAUS).
The training was attended by all members of the MINIPART research team. At the invitation of the principal investigator, several additional colleagues from IAUS and project collaborators from the survey phase conducted in the city of Bor and the municipality of Majdanpek also joined the sessions.
The training focused on mastering key MAXQDA functions — including coding, code systematisation, paraphrasing, case comparison, code correlation, and data visualisation. However, the knowledge, proactivity, and patience of the instructor, Dr. Vladan Vidicki, enriched the experience far beyond expectations. In addition to technical guidance, participants were introduced to fundamental principles of interview analysis and focus group research.
Dr. Vladan Vidicki is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad, with extensive experience in applying MAXQDA tools in social science research.
The MINIPART team will apply the knowledge gained to analyse expert interviews conducted in March and April 2025, and later during the work with focus groups planned for October 2025.
This research was supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia,
#GRANT No 7598, MINIPART.
#prisma #fondzanauku #minipart #IAUS #IFDT #UBGEF #TFBor #Boliden
September 2024
Professional visit to Tara Mine, Navan, Ireland
The MINIPART project team paid a study visit to the Tara zinc mine in Navan, Republic of Ireland, the largest zinc mine in Europe and one of the largest in the world. At the mine’s headquarters, the team was hosted by Mr. Paschal Walsh – Environmental, Health, and Safety Manager, along with his colleagues Michelle Geraghty and Damien Lynch. Through a presentation and discussions, the hosts introduced the mine’s operational model, their current practice of collaboration with the local community and other stakeholders, as well as the compensation modalities they have implemented. The dynamic discussion further contributed to the understanding of the differing contexts of mine development and mining activities in Ireland and Serbia, as well as their place within the urban and spatial planning systems.
This research was supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia,
#GRANT No 7598, MINIPART.
#prisma #fondzanauku #minipart #IAUS #IFDT #UBGEF #TFBor #Boliden
September 2024
Professional visit and lecture at University College Dublin (UCD)
The MINIPART project team paid a study visit to the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy at the University College Dublin (UCD). The invitation for the professional visit and lecture came from Prof. Dr. Ana Perić Momčilović – the external collaborator in the MINIPART team, and her colleagues Prof. Dr. Paula Russell and Prof. Dr. Brendan Williams. On this occasion, the members of the MINIPART team exchanged experiences with colleagues on the topic of public participation in Serbia and Ireland. A discussion with other colleagues and students followed after the team delivered lectures on the topic “Improving Participation in the Spatial Planning of Mining Areas”, during which they presented the MINIPART project and some preliminary results.
The presentation “Improving Participation in Spatial Planning of Mining Areas” is accessible at the MINIPART project website, under the “Open Science” section.
This research was supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia,
#GRANT No 7598, MINIPART.
#prisma #fondzanauku #minipart #IAUS #IFDT #UBGEF #TFBor #UCD
#universitycollegedublin
July 2024
The MINIPART project team has started training surveyors
The training of surveyors was held at the premises of the Institute for Architecture and Urban Planning of Serbia. Dr. Milena Toković (Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade) and MA Dušanka Milosavljević (Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory) conveyed theoretical and practical knowledge to the young survey team, which the surveyors will apply in fieldwork with the residents of the City of Bor and the Municipality of Majdanpek during this summer. The survey aims to assess the level of citizen engagement in this mining region in urban and spatial planning, as well as to gain insight into their views on the most appropriate methods of participation in decision- making.
Prof. Dr. Milovan Vuković (Technical Faculty in Bor, University of Belgrade) introduced a smaller part of the survey team in Bor to the basics of the task, the details followed via the Zoom application. The research results will serve as input data for the upcoming phases of the project and as the basis for an academic article.
This research was supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia,
hashtag#GRANT No 7598, MINIPART.
#prisma #fondzanauku #minipart #IFDT #IAUS #UBGEF #TFBor
The Science Fund of Serbia trough the Prizma program supports IAUS project MINIPART
As part of the PRIZMA program, launched by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, researchers from the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning of Serbia (IAUS) were granted funding for a project in the field of social sciences and humanities called MINIPART – “Improving participation in spatial planning of mining areas”, for the period 2024-2027.
Principal Investigator is Dr. Tamara Maričić, senior research associate. In the project also participate: Dr. Marijana Pantić (IAUS), Dr. Milena Toković (Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade), Prof. Dr. Milovan Vuković (Faculty of Technology in Bor, University of Belgrade), and PhD student Dušanka Milosavljević (Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory). Dr. Ana Perić Momčilović (School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, University of Dublin) and Dr. Juha Kotilainen (Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies, University of Eastern Finland) are included as external collaborators.
This research was supported by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia,
#GRANT No 7598, MINIPART.
#prisma #fondzanauku #minipart #IFDT #IAUS #UBGEF #TFBor
