This master´s thesis deals with documentation processing of project financing inquiry for employee´s qualification improvement at BDS Ltd. financed by EU´s structural funds, concretely by European social fund.

The aim of this study is to compare implementation, impact and sustainability of educational projects in small and medium enterprises which are funded by the European Social Fund. The results of the analysis should give us an answer to the question whether the financial support is used effectively and contributes to the fulfilment of its objectives or the potential of these funds remains untapped. The theoretical part deals with the current situation analysis of training and development of employees in SMEs, different methods of measuring the effectiveness of company training as well as the opportunities of training promotion in SMEs with support of the ESF. The practical part is focused on comparing the implementation of educational projects funded by the Operational Programme Prague -- Adaptability and Operational Programme Human Resources and Employment in chosen SMEs. These companies are compared with enterprises that fund their educational programmes with their own resources and with respect to differences resulting from their size measured by number of employees. This comparison enables us to assess the effectiveness of the use of public funds in this area.

The thesis conducts an analysis of active labour-market policy and its support in the framework of the European Social Fund. The first section is specialized in labour policy and described documents of European Union in this framework. The second section of the paper focuses on active labour-market policy -- its development, implementation, tool kit as well as its reaction to European Union requirements and a subsequent efficiency evaluation of a number of programmes aimed to support the active labour-market policy. The next section assesses the achievability of quantitative targets of the Lisbon strategy which the Czech Republic should meet by 2010, i.e. whether we are on track to meet these targets. We aim to determine the achievability of targets using an analysis of employment. The following important section looks at labour policy expenditures in the Czech Republic, their change over time and particularly after the European Union accession in 2004, since when the Czech Republic has been able to draw financial support from the European Social Fund. The last section therefore deals with the European Social Fund, in particular with the implementation of projects, assessment of their impact on employment growth and recommendations for improvements in the efficiency of their execution.

This thesis is focused on evaluation of a project financed from public funds. Theoretical basis for project management was described and discussed. The specifics that are encountered in the management of soft projects were also described. It was subsequently discussed the possibility of financing soft projects from EU structural funds. The practical part follows the theoretical background and focuses on the evaluation of a specific non-investment project. The selected project aimed to promote the application of people over 50 years in the labor market. It was evaluated what the organization did well in managing this project and what could be improved in the future.

In this thesis I focus on creating a project for children with special educational needs. The project, which the applicant is true and which school has the potential to be supported from EU funds, addresses the current situation of poor literacy in Czech Republic at primary schools, The thesis proposal to create a quality educational program for this target group not only the professional but also sustainable.

The subject of this master's thesis is the project implementation with the help of European funds. The project is focused on supporting the education of the staff in a non-profit organization. Included in the thesis is the introduction of basic concepts of European Structure Funds, Operational Programs of Czech republic and the development of the project in a comprehensive and admissible form.

TITLE: The impact of projects financed from the European Union on the quality of NGO activities for children and youth AUTHOR: Bc. Šimona Müllerová DEPARTMENT: Department of Education SUPERVISOR: doc. PhDr. Věra Poláčková CSc. CONSULTANT: Mgr.Karolína Pávková ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with the implementation of projects financed by the European Social Fund. Through qualitative research it explores the impact of these projects on the quality of NGO activities for children and youth. Through expert survey it presents the issue from the perspective of three experts. The case studies presenta a description of five NGOs from Prague and the regions of the ČR, who implemented projects aimed at children and youth with the assistance of the ESF. The analysis of information obtained from experts and the NGOs gives an opportunity to say a few major phenomena associated with projects. The main positive effect is the possibility to pursue a wide range of activities for children and youth. The problem occurs after completion of the project and the end EU subsidies. It will be difficult to ensure the sustainability of activities for children and young people throughout their range. KEYWORDS: Non-profit organisations European social fund Projects Children and youth

The purpose of this study is to create a deeper understanding of why collaboration projects emerge. The background of the study is the fact that collaboration projects are increasing in the society and being impelemented in the welfare. This is the basis of the researched question, why does Lund municipality tend to start collaboration projects within the welfare for young people? The study is conducted as a case study on a chosen project, ComUng. ComUng is a collaboration project that works with youths who are at risk of alienation. Interviews, text analysis and a web survey have been used as methods to find out why collaboration projects emerge. The results have been analyzed using an analysis tool based on research by DiMaggio and Powell (1983), which attempts to identify why organizations become increasingly alike. This phenomenon is called institutional isomorphism and is analyzed using three mechanisms: coercive isomorphism, mimetic isomorphism and normative isomorphism. The result of the study is that primarily two out of the three mechanisms have influenced the formation of ComUng. These are coercive isomorphism and normative isomorphism. The main difficulty I experienced during the study is the low frequency of answers to the web survey. Despite of this I believe the case study of ComUng can contribute with knowledge about why collaboration projects are formed. The conclusion is that a combination of a mindset shared by the personel and the resource possibilities from an external actor, in this case the European Social Fund, are the primary factors that have enabled this project. Previous research has tended to focus on the external resource. However, I believe that the personel and their opinion on how welfare can be operated are equally important.

<p>The present study explores the relationship between the ‘knowledge-enabling environment’ and the demand for training using a sample of 18 small private companies providing educational and consultancy services in Sweden. In this way, the dissertation is an exploration of the ways Swedish knowledge-intensive companies manage their knowledge. The 18 companies have participated in a European program for developing employee competence, financed by the European Social Fund. As part of this European-financed program companies have evaluated their business activity and determined their training needs in order to remain competitive. The 18 companies, thus, provide a rare opportunity to explore aspects of the demand for training in small enterprises. </p><p>Knowledge is understood here as both the structure and the content of mental schemas. It is embodied in individuals; it differs from information and data; and it can be tacit or explicit. When looking at organizational processes for managing knowledge, it is important to consider formal organized activities for learning, but also informal learning activities, which constitute the main source for tacit knowledge as well as the conditions in place for knowledge creation, what is here called the ‘knowledge-enabling environment’. It is argued that through knowledge management, companies are indeed implementing strategies for the promotion of lifelong learning.</p><p>Each company in the sample is rather unique in their ‘knowledge-enabling environment’. The exploration of the demand for training shows that the selected companies invest only less than half their perceived training needs. In both sectors the working-environment characteristics that according to the theories reviewed, should promote learning, do not necessarily foster a higher demand for learning, with the exception of information technology. Finally, Also interesting is that employees demand more training if their engagement in informal learning is low.</p>

The final thesis focuses on thema education and development of employees. The aim is to define these terms and explain the main theoretical approaches to education and development of employees. The first part of final thesis states new knowledge which were afterwards applied into practice during the research. Research, based on questionnaire completed by employees, is aimed at evaluation of project efficiency in a concrete company. The goal of project is to implement a new education strategy. At the end of practical part the survey results and improvement suggestions to project are described.