This post will explain what rural development through Leader is.
The Leader method was developed 30 years ago within the EU. The method is based on cooperation, local initiatives and local conditions. LEADER stands for Liaisons Entre Actions de Développment de l'Economie Rurale. Translate the sentence to ”Collaborative measures that work to develop the rural economy”.
The work takes place in geographically defined areas, so-called leader areas. There are leader areas all over Sweden and the EU. Each leader area has its own Local Action Group, LAG association with board, its own operations office and a development strategy.
Project ideas must fit into the local the strategy, be prerequisite-creating and beneficial for several in order to receive support. Leader shall contribute to development in Bergslagen through collaboration between private, non-profit and public actors. Which means that all projects that are granted support by Leader Bergslagen start some form of development process.
Many times projects lead to new business ideas or new livelihood opportunities. To lead in that direction, it is important that projects are focused on HOW you want to work, and not just WHAT you want to do.
The Leader method is based on seven principles
It's good to keep the seven principles in mind when you're figuring out project ideas or reads the strategy.
- Local strategy: Local strategies address real needs through tailor-made solutions. Leader is area-based.
- Bottom perspective: The bottom-up perspective takes advantage of ideas and initiatives that arise locally.
- LAW: LAG, the local action group, implements the strategy and is a local partnership that is multi-sectoral composed of non-profit, private and public sectors.
- Innovation: The Leader method's approach and the new collaborative constellations promote innovation and new thinking.
- Integrated efforts: Coordinate and integrate interventions of different kinds: economic, social, cultural and environmental. Each intervention is a piece of the puzzle to a larger whole. Leader is multi-sectoral.
- Network: Create networks both within projects and between different efforts.
- Cooperation: Concretize the networks into actual collaborations, locally, regionally, nationally and transnationally.
Leader contributes to both local development and the EU's Common Agricultural Policy
As Leader is funded by EU support through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the objectives of the strategy are also designed to fit within the objectives of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.
Selection criteria and project selection processes are designed to support the objectives and focus areas of the strategy. In this way, all projects prioritised by this strategy contribute both to the local development of the area and to the objectives of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.
The YouTube clip below tells about the Leader method and its importance for locally led development.