<      The sixteen new voivodships are quite large, with populations ranging between approximately 1 and 5 milion, and on average population of aproximately2.4 milion. Democratic voivodship self-governments have independent legal identities, their own budgets and extensive powers in the area of economic policy.
 
      Concils known as Sejmiks (regional parliaments) are the decision-making bodies of voivodship self-governments. They are elected in general elections. The Sejmiks, in turn, elect governing Boards to exercise the executive authority in self-governing vovodships. Boards are headed by the elected Marshals.
 
      Voivodship self-governments are responsible for the regional development policy programmes whose primary purpose is to ensure that the country's human and material capital is put to best use. Experience has shown that these policies cannot be designed exlusively by the central governmental nor can they be the responsibility of local self-governments, whose primary scope of activity is the delivery of direct public services.
 
      The functions of voivodship (regional) self-governments focus on regional development. They formulate and implement development strategies for their territory. The tasks of voivodship self-governments with respect to promoting regional development are concentrated in three major areas:

1. Econommic development, including also international economic relations and regional promotion (stimulating business activities, improving the competitiveness and the innovativeness of regions).
   
2. Some regional public services, such as higher education, specialised health services, and supra-local cultural activities.
   
3. Sustainable development, especialy the preservation and rational utilisation of the cultural and natural environment, including land use and land planning.

      Regional development tasks are to be subject to so-called 'regional agreements' contracted between the central government and regional authorities. Following this pattern, European Union Structural Funds will be transferred to, and managed by, regional governments. While retaining the unitary character of the state and the uniformity of its foreign policy, Polish regions are also able to enter into bilateral and multi-lateral co-operation with foreign partners. Therefore, Polish regions can become one of the leading forces in the proces of Poland's integration with the European Union in the near future.
 
      Self-governing voivodships perform mainly developmental functions; promote growth rather than render services; and play an economic rather than an administrative role. The range of public services performed by voivodship is thus limited to those which are clearly of a regional character and cannot be executed by either gminas or poviats.
 
      Major tasks of voivodship self-governments provided by the law in the area of public services include:

1. Education: running post-secondary schools, certain secondary and vocational schools, teacher training calleges, voivodship libraries.
   
2. Higher education: initiating the establishment and financing of hihger schools, including vocational schools which have a regional reach.
   
3. Health protection: running specialised facilities which have a regional service area, medical emergency and ambulance service.
   
4. Culture: running cultural institutions which have a regional service area.
   
5. Social welfare: counteracting unemployment by utilising Voivodship Employment Centers through designing regional development strategies and contracting regional agreements with the central government.
   
6. Modernisation of rural areas.
   
7. Spatial development.
   
8. Preservation of environment, in particular through the participation of the voivodship self-government representatives in the activities of the Voivodship Environmental Protection Funds.
   
9. Water management, land amelioration and maintenance of hydro-installations.
   
10. Regional road and transport managment with respect to their modernisation, maintenance and protection of voivodship roads.