1.1 SWOT analysis

For the purposes of this study and given the specificity of beneficiaries, we propose a simplified in our opinion analysis - sufficient enough to implement really valuable educational projects.

This analysis consists of:

  • determining the strengths and weaknesses of the organization (preferably 3-5 of the most important)
  • determining the opportunities and threats arising from the environment (as above).

Its essence is reflection on current organization activities and taking appropriate actions on this basis.

It is often the most difficult thing to determine what is a strength and what is an opportunity (by analogy: a weakness and a threat). The key here is the answer to the question whether I can directly influence the aspect being considered or not. If so, this will be my strength (weakness), and if not, but you can use it, it will be a chance. If not and can make negatively impact on the organization, then it will be a threat.

A strong point for beneficiaries can be, for example, teachers with practical experience (the organization has a direct impact on them, e.g. by issuing official instructions), and the opportunity to obtain funding in the Education Programme for a job shadowing trip. You can then submit a project in which such funding (opportunity) can allow the teacher to look at your specialization (strength) from the perspective of a person dealing with a similar field in another country, which will be very valuable for the entire organization - the teacher will increase their practical skills, they will also be more comprehensive (thus broadening the organization's strengths) thanks to the implementation of the mobility project (taking advantage of the opportunity).

As you can see in the example above, there are various possibilities for making actions related to the initially identified features and factors. You can work on further developing your strengths, eliminating weaknesses, seizing opportunities or eliminating threats (more on this in the section on risk analysis). The presented example allows you to realize that one activity (in this case a mobility project) can be related to various aspects - a completed job shadowing project (opportunity use) will contribute to expansion of useful competences (deepening strengths), growth of the teacher satisfaction, who were beginning to be frustrated by the lack of self-development in the organization (elimination of the weakness) and the transfer of knowledge and skills to students that would enable them to take jobs anywhere - not only at the largest employer in the local area (eliminating the risk of dependence on one external entity). As you can see, there can be several such links (although one good one may also be appropriate) and it depends on the organization what you want to focus on - in principle, these should be the aspects that have the greatest impact.