1_EU LEADER approach in 2007 – 2013 Jela Tvrdonova, 2015

Content What is Leader approach? How did Leader evolved? How is Leader implemented? Local action groups and local development strategies Cooperation in Leader Guidelines for Leader What is the future of territorial development? What is CLLD? Is there any future for Leader?

What is the Leader approach? governance tool endogenous development tool innovation tool territorial tool integration tool

What is the Leader approach? Territorial policy tool RDP/OP Leader/CLLD ESI Funds/ Other public and private funding Method LDS/CLLDS 7 principles Added value

Leader as a rural development method A mode of governance characterized by the combined application of the 7 LEADER features for the elaboration and implementation of local development strategies Bottom-up approach with decision power for LAGs Local public – private partnership Multi-sectorial design and implementation of strategies Area –based local development strategies Implementation of innovative approaches Networking of local partnerships Implementation of cooperation projects

Evolution of the Leader approach Community Initiatives: Leader I (1991-93) – experiment: result of criticism to the individual project approach in the Structural Policy Leader II (1994-99) - laboratory: limited to disadvantaged rural areas, innovation, pilot actions, introduction of transnational cooperation Leader+ (2000-06) - maturity phase: eligibility of the whole rural territory; reinforced role of networks and transnational cooperation (Leader+ type measure for new Member States 2004-2006) „Mainstreamed Leader“ 2007-13: Leader axis – not any longer specific programmes; methodological approach to mainstream RD programming CLLD in 2014- 2020 Possibility to prepare and implement strategies based on funding of several EU ESI Funds

Experience with Leader Decentralised management, financing and local partnerships need more resources at early stages (capacity building, negotiation time, organisation development) Accelerated programme delivery in later phases due to enhanced local capital, local ownership.

Concept of Leader Axis Various policy options within rural policy instruments Wider thematic and geographical scope of application Application to the 3 axis Geographical application (application on a wider scale (all rural regions in certain MS )

Leader Axis measures (Art 63) a) Implementing local development strategies to achieve the objectives of one or more of the 3 axis b) Cooperation c) Running the local action group, acquisition of skills and animating the territory

RDP measures implemented via Leader axis – technical options Selection of measures – menu of RD regulation measures will have to be chosen out of the European ‘menu’ of measures. Sub option A : measure implemented exclusively with the Leader method Sub option B :measure implemented in addition to the top down method Implementation of own measures (e.g. territorial measures)

Various RDP allocations for leader Leader axis budget: At least 5 % of total EARDF contribution in the old MS At least 2,5% in the new MS. Romania and Bulgaria (2,5% applying to 2010- 2013)

Leader 2007 – 2013 – reality Programmed expenditure for Leader in the EU: Public: € 8.9 billion – of which EAFRD: € 5.5 billion – total public: € 13.9 billion Private: € 5.0 billion Maximum co-financing rate: 55% in developed regions 80% in convergence regions

Leader 2007 – 2013 – reality Breakdown of the EAFRD contribution according to the measures for Leader: Implementation of local development strategies (Measure 41): 77, 5% Competitiveness (sub-measure 411) : 9,5% Environment and Land Management (sub-measure 412): 3,0 % Quality of Life and Economic Diversification (sub- measure 413) : 65,0% Inter territorial and transnational cooperation (Measure 421) : 5,0% LAG running costs, skills acquisition and animation (Measure 431) 16,5%

Leader axis implementation steps Acquisition of skills for new LAGs or existing LAGs Selection of local development strategies Contracting LAGs Implementation of local development strategy Monitoring and evaluation

Local action groups (LAGs) Legally constituted structure in administrative and financial matters Decision making body (any matters including project selection): public interest represented with maximum 49% of voters Local action groups should: Carry out capacity building actions for local actors (acquisition of skills) Draw up project selection criteria, assess and select operations for financing under the local development strategy Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the local development strategy and the operations supported,

Selection of local development strategies Opened selection procedure ensuring competition between LAGs RDP contains procedure and timetable for selecting the local action groups, including: selection criteria (eligibility and quality) and their justification planned maximum number of LAGs planned percentage of rural territories covered by local development strategies

Selection of local action groups - minimum criteria Partnership related criteria Clear responsibility for strategy implementation Representative of partners from the various locally based socio-economic sectors At decision-making level representation of the economic and social actors and civil society (at least 50 % of the local partnership) Ability to define and implement a development strategy; Ability to administer public funds Strategy related criteria Integrated local development strategy Territory related criteria Coherent area and critical mass to support a viable development strategy

Local development strategies Requirements: Definition of the area and population covered by the strategy; Elaboration and description of local development strategy Description of the process of community involvement in the development of the strategy; Description of the management and monitoring arrangements of the strategy, Demonstration of the capacity bulding/acquisition of skills activities of the local action group to implement the strategy and Description of specific arrangements for evaluation; Reporting and communication

LDS design and intervention logic LDS as a management tool to address the LAG territory’s needs and improve the situation and covers: Analysis of the development needs and potential of the area, including SWOT and needs assessment Description of the strategy and its objectives, a description of the integrated and innovative character of the strategy, including clear and measurable targets for outputs, results and impacts. Action plan demonstrating how objectives are translated into measures and actions; Financial plan of the strategy, including the planned allocation of various funds used to implement it . The heart of the LDS is its intervention logic, which is also the ground for its evaluation

The base for the intervention logic design Territory description SWOT analysis Needs assessment

LDS operational objectives Elements of LDS intervention logic Context situation analysed with SWOT Needs of the LAG territory to be addressed with the LDS LDS contribution to programme objectives and changes in LAG territory Links to objectives of EFF, EFRD and ESF, financed programmes if relevant Links to RDP Objectives, RD priorities and FA (mainly 6B) and others if relevant Overall LDS Objective(s) Expected impacts LDS specific objectives Expected results LDS operational objectives Expected outputs LDS measures Inputs

Decision making process in the implementation of local strategy Bottom up principle to respect : Individual projects/operations selected by local action groups (assessment of project relevance towards the local strategy) Procedure for the selection of operations by the local action groups, and description of the financial circuits applicable for LAGs is described in the programme. Eligibility checks (legal control) made by the Managing Authority in the majority of MS

Bottom up and financial circuits Payments by LAG Payments by Paying agency LAG pays to final beneficiary (e.g. commune or local enterprise by LAG LAG asks the reimbursement of EU contribution to the Paying Agency LAG´s financial management respects conditions approved by Paying Agency Paying Agency ensures that all eligibility rules and conditions have been respected, PA pays to final beneficiary (e.g. commune or local enterprise by LAG Paying Agency ensures that all eligibility rules and conditions have been respected,

Best bottom up model of administrative, management and financial circuits Possible use of global grant at LAG level with financial autonomy Selection and payment of operations by LAG according to the bottom up principle Good practices : concentration of public funds, advances to LAGs

Inter-territorial cooperation Transnational cooperation Within EU With rural territories in third countries

Eligibility rules and conditions for cooperation Eligible costs: project development and implementation of a joint action including coordination costs for all areas Role of Lead LAG At least one partner selected under the Leader Axis

Cooperation projects Can be integrated in local development strategy Advantages: coherent with the bottom up approach; quicker procedure since local action groups select the projects; cooperation is coherent with the strategy If not integrated in local strategy, authorization by the managing authorities Advantages: better control on the respect of requirements (e.g. presence of a common action) Coordination mechanism at EU level for international coordination projects

Procedure (LAG or MA selection) Timetable and Cooperation Procedure (LAG or MA selection) Timetable and Objective criteria to select inter- territorial and trans-national cooperation projects.

Guidelines on Leader Axis Assist Member States in the preparation and administrative implementation of Leader axis using past and current experience with the Leader + Community Initiative and Leader+ type measure LAG internal structure and management not covered Non binding instrument Complementary to the Leader Axis fiche Cooperation guide not presented Introduction Defining a strategy for rural areas using the Leader approach Designing the content of Leader Axis in the programme including planning resources The selection of the local action groups How will the administrative, management and financial circuits be organised?

Territorial development in future policy Europe 2020 strategy => unlocking the EU's growth potential Part of potential for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth lies in the endogenous growth potential at sub regional level Sub-regional development policies acting at grass roots level can in particular contribute to the social inclusion targets of Europe 2020 The EU tools in support of the Europe 2020 strategy include levers for growth and jobs such as the EU budget EU financial support is delivered through the EU funds in shared management (EAFRD, ERDF/CF, ESF, EFF) a Common Strategic Framework (CSF) is proposed to strengthen the coordination and integration of EU policies for the delivery of the Europe 2020 strategy CSF contains the strategic guidelines for sub regional/local development including community led local development CLLD Common agriculture policy – one of horizontal objectives Rules between the Funds for local development will be harmonised

Community-led local development (CLLD) Is based on the experience of LEADER under rural development Complements and enhances the delivery of public policies for all CSF Funds and local level Aims at increasing effectiveness and efficiency of territorial development strategies by delegating decision-making and implementation to a local partnership of public, private and civil society actors. should be implemented in the context of a strategic approach, to ensure that the ‘bottom-up’ definition of local needs takes account of priorities set at a higher level.  Member States will have to define the national approach to community-led local development across the CSF Funds…

CSF: Requirements for CLLD in the Partnership agreements (PA) ... and should therefore include references to community-led local development in the PA: detail the main challenges that MS intend to tackle, setting out the main objectives and priorities and indicate the types of territories where this approach should be implemented; which specific role will be attributed to the local action groups in its delivery; indicate how the CSF Funds will be used together ; explain the role envisaged for the different Funds in different types of territories (rural, urban etc.).

CSF key actions as regards CLLD in the different Funds ESF: CSF Thematic Objective No. 9 - Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty: support the preparation, the running and the animation of local strategies; support the activities designed and implemented under the local strategy in areas falling within the scope of ESF in the fields of employment, education, social inclusion and institutional capacity building ERDF: CSF Thematic Objective No. 9 - Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty: fostering community-led local development strategies through support for the capacity- building of the local action groups and the preparation, running and animation of local strategies, and through support for the activities designed and implemented under the local strategy in areas falling within the scope of the ERDF in the fields of social inclusion and physical and economic regeneration EMFF specific objectives for CLLD the EMFF Reg., link to Thematic Objectives of diversification, promoting employment in fisheries communities and therefore indirectly also to No. 9;

Implementation of CLLD in MS Improving strategic choices at Member State level regarding local development inside of Partnership agreement: Member States would have to choose/define the part of their territory which would be eligible for LDS (“one area = one strategy”) Link local development potential with their overall growth strategy Identify a "lead" Fund (EAFRD, ERDF, ESF or EFF) for each LAG/LDS Broaden the funding base Reinforce rural-urban links Various possibilities to implement CLLD Rural Rural and urban Rural - urban

CSF key actions for CLLD wthin EAFRD CSF Thematic Objective No. 9: Promoting social inclusion and combating poverty, which reflects RD Priority 6: fostering local development in rural areas by promoting community- led local development (LEADER local development strategies) and through investments in all types of small-scale infrastructure in rural areas and investments in setting up, improving or expanding local basic services for the rural population, particularly in remote rural areas, together with other actions to improve the quality of life in and attractiveness of rural settlements (‘village renewal’) . support may also be used to promote social inclusion, particularly through community-led local development (‘LEADER’)  Independently from this CSF focus, all other RD priorities can be addressed with LEADER !

Intervention logic for Pillar II Europe 2020 Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth CAP general Objectives Possible CAP Impact Indicators CAP Sustainable management of natural resources and climate action Viable food production Balanced territorial development Pillar II Priorities 2. Enhancing farm viability and competitiveness of all types of agriculture in all regions and promoting innovative farm technologies and sustainable management of forests 3. Promoting food chain organisation, including processing and marketing of agricultural products, animal welfare and risk management in agriculture 4. Restoring, preserving and enhancing ecosystems related to agriculture and forestry 5. Promoting resource efficiency and supporting the shift towards a low carbon and climate resilient economy in agriculture, food and forestry sectors 6. Promoting social inclusion, poverty reduction and economic development in rural areas 1. Fostering knowledge transfer and innovation in agriculture, forestry and rural areas

Leader in Rural development policy – priority 6B 6. Promoting social inclusion, poverty reduction and economic development in rural areas RD Focus areas 6A Facilitating diversification, creation and development of small enterprises and job creation 6B Fostering local development in rural areas 6C Enhancing accessibility to, use and quality of information and communication technologies (ICT) in rural areas Relevant measures/approaches Art. 22 Investments in forest area development and improvement of the viability of forests Art. 16 Advisory services, farm management and farm relief services Art. 18 Investments in physical assets Art. 20 Farm and business development Art. 15 Knowledge transfer and information actions Art. 21 Basic services and village renewal in rural areas Art. 36 Co-operation Art. 42 Leader local action group Art. 44 Leader co-operation activities 37

Management at the level of Member States/regions Local development strategies are selected for EU funding under the responsibility of the relevant managing authorities Strategies can be financed from one or several EU Funds in parallel “Multi-funding” as an option For simplification, a „lead Fund“ can be designated in the case of multi-fund strategies covering for the management costs choice of the lead Fund depends on the activities foreseen and the area in question

What are the options? Mono-fund – administrative burden at LAG level EAFRD EFF EFRD ESF LDS LDS LDS LDS

Strategic decisions for CLLD: single mono fund Solution – only one fund, usually Leader: Simple solution for administration, lost opportunity for local areas And: Exclusion of broader strategies Threatening the develop territorially integrated strategies Lowering the probability of solving real problems of rural areas. Limiting the synergy among ESI Funds Lessing the money

Strategic decision for CLLD: coordination among funds Multi-fund, but each separately – coordination of procedures, Common management of several funds: Capacity building Coordination of procedures e.g. parallel selection of LAGs, one application form, comparable selection criteria, deadlines, single committee etc. Common Monitoring Committee

Medzi stupeň – sprostredkovateľský orgán What are the options? Multi-fund – administrative burden at MA level establishment of „one stop shop“ or cross-fund cooperation EAFRD EFF EFRD ESF Medzi stupeň – sprostredkovateľský orgán LDS

Strategic decision for CLLD – multi-fund from one place Advantages Boarder strategies Better definition of common problems which can be resolved with support of all funds Refusing artificial demarcation lines Enabling of common utilisation of funds More money Remember Individual needs and capacities of given area Solid preparation and activity for building capacity Building on existing structures –local development needs time

Simplification of managing multi-fund strategies Possibility to create common tool for LAGs operation and animation activities Common CLLD facility Possibility to delegate tasks of MA „One stop shop“ Satisfied the need for coordination Common control and audit

Example of „multi-fund“ CLLD strategy Local action group ERDF, CF ESF EAFRD EMFF Local governments Local entrepreneurs Local NGOs, civil society LOCAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Project 3 Running costs, animation, networking Possibly though „lead Fund“ Project 1 ERDF Project 2

Future of Leader The Leader approach based on its specific features will continue to be an important tool of rural development policy after 2013 Within the EU priorities for rural development unlocking local potential will continue to be an important element The implementation mechanisms of Leader will be improved in order to be able to better meet the expected added-value of the Leader approach

Future of Leader …on the basis of the lessons learned from the previous Leader Community Initiatives and the „mainstreamed“ Leader in 07-13: More guidance to the Member States in the legal framework: offering flexibility for the implementation without being too prescriptive Goal: Make Leader fit to better serve innovation and local governance

Future of Leader Strengthening the role of the local development strategies (LDS) as the central tool to meet objectives: quality of design and implementation (including better monitoring and evaluation) Ensuring the presence of all Leader specificities especially: more freedom for LAGs to chose those projects, which best fit their strategies

Future of Leader Concretely: Clearer distribution of tasks between the authorities and the LAGs (depending on the implementation model followed) Greater focus on animation and capacity building (also for the preparation of the strategies) Strengthening the participation of the private sector in the partnerships

Future of Leader Concretely: Streamlining transnational cooperation Re-inforced networking tools for LAGs on EU and national level Synergies with the local development networking instruments of the other EU Funds

Thank you for your attention jela@ruralevaluation.eu