Synergy of social and human capital in rural development – Czech and German cases

The paper is focused on specialised organizations for the education and creation of human capital within the rural areas, which are called “Schools for Rural Renewal”. Attention is also paid to a relatively new phenomenon in networking and social capital creation within the rural areas which is called “Regional Educational Cooperative” and which could be the inspiration for rural areas in the Czech Republic. The main aim of the paper is to examine the role of these organisations within the process of knowledge creation in rural areas and also to identify the synergy effect of social and human capital. From the methodological point of view, mainly secondary analysis and semi-standardised interviews with actors in rural development are used. How are social and human capitals used in rural development, what are the impacts of the application of these concepts in rural areas in the Czech Republic? This paper should provide the answers to these essential questions.