LEADER/CLLD Principles
The European LEADER approach is based on seven specific principles, which must all be present simultaneously in order to apply the method correctly. It is these seven characteristics that define LEADER as a methodology and distinguish it from other funding programmes.
Area-based. An area-based approach implies a focus on a small, homogeneous, socially cohesive territory, often characterized by common traditions, a shared local identity, and a sense of belonging or common needs and expectations. A LEADER area must have clearly defined geographical boundaries, which are not necessarily administrative boundaries, but rather practical or functional boundaries. Having such an area as a reference point facilitates the recognition of local strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities, endogenous potential and the identification of major bottlenecks for sustainable development.
Local partnership. The LAG involves both public and private partners, has to be well balanced and representative of the existing local interest groups, drawn from the different socioeconomic sectors in the area. At the decision-making level, private partners and associations must make up at least 50 per cent plus one person of the local partnership. Its legal form may vary from country to country but partnerships often have a non-profit status.
Who works on “LEADER” at the local level and what does ‘local’ mean for LEADER?In the frame of all LEADER initiatives, the local rural development process is managed by LAGs, which are established by representatives of the relevant municipalities, local businesses and civil society organizations. The activities of each LAG must cover a contiguous rural area, with a population of between 10,000 and 100,000.Bottom-up. The bottom-up approach means that local stakeholders participate in decision-making about the strategic planning and in the selection of the priorities to be pursued in their local area. The involvement of local actors includes the population at large, economic and social interest groups and representatives of public and private institutions. LEADER operates on the basis that local people are the best placed to oversee the development of their territory. It can be seen as a tool of participatory democracy, which supplements electoral parliamentary democracy.
Local management. The management, including financial management of the LEADER programmes, is entrusted to the LAG. The benefits of this local management lie primarily in the virtues of proximity. This approach allows the LAG to develop a keen knowledge of the project promoters, and of the area’s economic and social characteristics. Proximity improves information flows and streamlines and simplifies procedures for project promoters. Local management makes it possible, more so than centralized management, to foster the emergence of projects adapted to local needs and potentials that do not always fit within traditional institutional frameworks.
Multi-sectoral integration. LEADER is not a sectoral development programme; the LAG strategy must have a multi-sectoral rationale, integrating several sectors of activity. The actions and projects contained in local strategies should be linked and coordinated as a coherent whole. The LAG is a melting pot of sometimes surprisingly different actors and this diversity often creates ideal conditions for innovation. The LAG must, however, be able to bring the different interests and interest groups together in a constructive manner.
Networking and cooperation. The LAG is a network itself but it should also look around and cooperate with other development organizations, at local, regional, national and international level. Networking is a means of transferring good practice, of disseminating innovation and building on the lessons learned from local development. Networking forges links between people, projects and rural areas and can help overcome the isolation faced by some rural regions. It can help stimulate cooperation projects by connecting LEADER groups around shared interests. Cooperation goes further than networking. It involves a LAG undertaking a joint project with the urban centre of the region, another LEADER group, or with a group taking a similar approach, in another region or even another country. Cooperation with other regions is often the best source of innovation for LAGs. New perspectives can often lead to new opportunities.
Innovation. The innovative character of LEADER/CLLD can be seen as a way to promote the development of new solutions for organizing local/rural societies. This innovation is to (re)discover local resources by the community and fructify them with new knowledge and technologies. It is fostering change-making to reinvent local prosperity. The extended local impetus of change, the rethought community actions by newly created partnerships and newly added value to local products and services mean that the local community responds more effectively than was previously possible to old and new development opportunities and constraints.
Community Coaching
In November 2017, members of eight Local Action Groups (LAGs), created by local stakeholders with the assistance of SARD, signed the formal Partnership Agreements, which are the basis of their common work.
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