The Impact Of Leader On Balanced Territorial Development PDF Download

LEADER is a distinctive approach to local rural and sustainable development that has been piloted and supported with European funding since 1991. Its seven key operational features are centred around a 'bottom up', community-led and integrated approach, mobilising local actors in a specific territory to design and deliver a Local Development Strategy (LDS). Public authorities, private enterprises and community groups work together in partnership to animate and support projects and activities designed to meet local development needs, promoting innovative solutions and multi-sectoral actions, networking and cooperation. LEADER at local level is led by Local Action Groups (LAGs), supported by Managing Authorities (MAs) and Paying Agencies (PAs) for the relevant EU programmes and funds. In the programme period 2014-2020, LEADER under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) supported 2 784 LAGs across 28 Member States (MS), covering between 49 and 100 per cent of the total rural population in at least 22 Member States. LEADER's planned budget was EUR 7.01 billion, representing around seven per cent of the EAFRD3 (up to April 2021). By 2021, LEADER across the EU-28 had spent 49% of this. This study concerns an evaluation of the impact of LEADER on balanced territorial development in the 2014-2020 period. The study was undertaken between October 2020 and October 2021. The aim of the evaluation was to assess how and how far LEADER Measure 19 within the EAFRD and the LEADER approach of Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) contributed to the CAP strategic goal of Balanced Territorial Development. Measures and instruments covered by the evaluation include those in the Rural Development Regulation (EU) 1305/2013 and the approach set out in the Common Provisions Regulation (EU) 1303/2013). Links with other European Structural Investment (ESI) funds and CAP instruments were also considered. The evaluation examined the performance of LEADER across 28 Member States. It considered to what extent LEADER contributed to Balanced Territorial Development, and made recommendations to enhance its future performance. Fourteen Evaluation Study Questions were defined, covering the following aspects: 1. Relevance - is LEADER well-targeted and designed to meet needs for economic, social, environmental and balanced territorial development, in rural Europe? 2. Effectiveness - is LEADER achieving its objectives? Is it stimulating positive local economic, social and environmental outcomes? What is its impact on local governance and capacity? How well does it leverage resources to achieve goals? Do the seven features of the LEADER approach influence its performance and in what ways? 3. Efficiency is LEADER working in an efficient and cost-effective way? Could it achieve more with the same resources, or achieve the same at lower cost? What are the main administrative burdens and how might they be reduced? 4. Causal analysis - how does LEADER operate? How do its design and implementation affect its performance? 5. Coherence - does LEADER work well alongside other CAP measures and other EU funds? How coherent is it with relevant national and regional policies? How does LEADER funded through EAFRD alone, compare to CLLD where multi-funded? 6. What is the EU added-value of LEADER?