The adaptability of stakeholders to new approaches in rural development in the Czech Republic

The paper deals with the adoption of new approaches in the practice of rural development. Major attention is paid to the LEADER approach, with the objective of evaluating the implementation of the principles in the activities of actors associated with Czech LAGs. Techniques of content analysis and interviews with selected representatives, mainly with managers of LAGs, were used for sociological empirical research. The results analyse concrete clashes between the hierarchic structure and the principle of network co-operation, which is starting to develop successfully at state-wide and international levels. Next, the results point out the failures in the implementation of the LEADER approach in the Czech Republic which have been overcome (linked with the principles of recourse from locality, decentralised management and financing, partnership) and, on the contrary, those which are still ongoing (linked with principles of integration of sectors, innovativeness). In the Conclusion, research questions for further solution are formulated.Countryside, development, territorial governance, stakeholder, LEADER, Community/Rural/Urban Development, GA, IN,

The Development of eServices in an Enlarged EU: eGovernment and eHealth in the Czech Republic

In 2005, IPTS launched a project which aimed to assess the developments in eGoverment, eHealth and eLearning in the 10 New Member States at national, and at cross-country level. At that time, the 10 New Member States were Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, and Slovakia. A report for each country was produced, describing its government and health systems and the role played by eGovernment and eHealth within these systems. Each report then analyzes, on the basis of desk research and expert interviews, the major achievements, shortcomings, drivers and barriers in the development of eGovernment and eHealth in one of the countries in question. This analysis provides the basis for the identification and discussion of national policy options to address the major challenges and to suggest R&D issues relevant to the needs of each country ¿ in this case, the Czech Republic. In addition to national monographs, the project has delivered a synthesis report, which offers an integrated view of the developments of each application domain in the New Member States. Furthermore, a prospective report looking across and beyond the development of the eGoverment, eHealth and eLearning areas has been developed to summarize policy challenges and options for the development of eServices and the Information Society towards the goals of Lisbon and i2010.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

CONDITIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL COMMUNITY EDUCATION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

The paper is based on the concepts of the learning society and community-led local development, specifically focused on community education in rural areas of the Czech Republic. The research questions are connected with the identification of objective and subjective conditions for the development of community education and with the development of activities of Rural Community Schools, both from the supply and demand perspectives. The aim is fulfilled through a secondary analysis of Rural Community Schools’ websites and mainly through primary research carried out by interviewing techniques with a high level of standardisation, conducted with the main actors (Community Coordinators) of Rural Community Schools. The results of the study show the higher importance of subjective conditions for the successful development of community education in the Czech Republic. The paper also identifies the demand for educational activities provided by Rural Community Schools as a positive factor in their development. On the other hand, weaknesses could mainly be seen in cooperation with local partners. This is also the main possibility or necessity for their successful future development

Civil Society in the 'Visegrad Four': Data and Literature in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia

The first of three publications on the '25 Years After -- Mapping Civil Society in the Visegrád Four' project contains an overview of existing data and literature in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. It looks at where and what kind of research on civil society has been and is being done, who is doing it and where the gaps are.To be consistent and comparable, the four country reports include the same core sections: relevant publications on civil society in the respective country; existing databases and other data sources; active centres of research, training, and policy studies. More than providing just a list, this report looks at how they can be evaluated in terms of scope, accurateness and depth. Finally, it considers the question of what the most crucial gaps in research and funding in the countries are.An academic volume is slated for the end of 2014. For other publications in English and German, see www.maecenata.eu

Annual Report: May 2009 – April 2010

ECP-2008-GEO-318007, eContentplu

Report on SHAFE policies, strategies and funding

The objective of Working Group (WG) 4 of the COST Action NET4Age-Friendly is to examine existing policies, advocacy, and funding opportunities and to build up relations with policy makers and funding organisations. Also, to synthesize and improve existing knowledge and models to develop from effective business and evaluation models, as well as to guarantee quality and education, proper dissemination and ensure the future of the Action. The Working Group further aims to enable capacity building to improve interdisciplinary participation, to promote knowledge exchange and to foster a cross-European interdisciplinary research capacity, to improve cooperation and co-creation with cross-sectors stakeholders and to introduce and educate students SHAFE implementation and sustainability (CB01, CB03, CB04, CB05). To enable the achievement of the objectives of Working Group 4, the Leader of the Working Group, the Chair and Vice-Chair, in close cooperation with the Science Communication Coordinator, developed a template (see annex 1) to map the current state of SHAFE policies, funding opportunities and networking in the COST member countries of the Action. On invitation, the Working Group lead received contributions from 37 countries, in a total of 85 Action members. The contributions provide an overview of the diversity of SHAFE policies and opportunities in Europe and beyond. These were not edited or revised and are a result of the main areas of expertise and knowledge of the contributors; thus, gaps in areas or content are possible and these shall be further explored in the following works and reports of this WG. But this preliminary mapping is of huge importance to proceed with the WG activities. In the following chapters, an introduction on the need of SHAFE policies is presented, followed by a summary of the main approaches to be pursued for the next period of work. The deliverable finishes with the opportunities of capacity building, networking and funding that will be relevant to undertake within the frame of Working Group 4 and the total COST Action. The total of country contributions is presented in the annex of this deliverable

Policy instruments to promote electro-mobilityiIn the Eu28: A comprehensive review

Despite its environmental benefits, the amount of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in use within the European Union 28 is still very limited. Poor penetration might be explained by certain factors that dissuade potential buyers. To balance these factors and promote electro-mobility, Member States have established incentives to increase demand. However, the various measures are scattered. This paper contributes to fill the gap in the literature by offering an overall view of the main measures. The authors will focus on measures to promote electro-mobility within the EU28 until 2014. After an in-depth and comprehensive review of the relevant measures, the authors conclude that the most important policy instruments to promote EVs are tax and infrastructure measures in addition to financial incentives for purchasing and supporting R&D projects. Regardless of the scarcity of EV registration data, the available information allows us to conclude that higher EV penetration levels appear in countries where the registration tax, the ownership tax, or both taxes have developed a partial green tax by including CO2 emissions in the calculation of the final invoice.Junta de Andalucía proyecto SEJ-132Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España, Cátedra de Economía de la Energía y del Medio Ambiente (Cátedra de Energía y Economía Ambiental) ECO2014-56399-RUniversidad Autónoma de Chil