The article aims at deepening knowledge how representatives of local authorities perceive social problems existing in their municipalities and whether they think European Social Fund (ESF) to impact on the alleviation of the problems. It is a report based on research carried out in selected municipalities located in Łódź region. 21 representatives of local authorities took part in FGIs and 57 in IDIs. The paper documents that respondents do not consider unemployment and poverty as severe social problems in their municipalities. The approach of blaming victims coexists with that indicating insufficient work supply. In the opinion of respondents, projects financed by ESF aiming at activation of people cover a small number of participants and do not have long lasting impact on employment. However, they increase soft skills of participants.