1. dr Karol Janas Institute of Urban Development Central and East European Development Studies Department 30-015 Kraków, ul. Cieszyńska 2, Poland kjanas@irm.krakow.pl The Leader method – transferring V4 experiences to Georgia Project seminar in Tbilisi, 5 March 2015 Georgian Foundation For Strategic and International Studies The Leader Approach Community-Led Local Development aims and principles

2. W HAT THE L EADER IS ? An element of the EU rural development policy An instrument for co-funding local development initiatives A tool to activate local actors and organizations in order to achieve common goals A networking mechanism, boosting territory based cross-sectorial cooperation

3. symplified Leader Approach model 1.Local Action Group formation 2.Preparation of the Local Development Strategy 3.Aplication for funding 4.Local Development Strategy implementation 5.Community-Led Local Development in rural area

4. T HE L EADER A PPROACH 7 PRINCIPLES 1. The Bottom Up approach 2. The area based approach 3. The Local Action Group 4. The Innovative approach 5. Integrated & Multi sectoral approach 6. Networking 7. Cooperation

5. T HE B OTTOM -U P APPROACH local actors participate in decision-making about their local area&community Capacity building is an essential component Participation should extend throughout the implementation process the bottom-up approach should not be considered as alternative or opposed to top-down approaches - it’s complementary!

6. T HE AREA BASED APPROACH A small, homogenous, socially cohesive territory Actions tailored more precisely to suit real needs and local competitive advantage area chosen must have sufficient coherence and critical mass in terms of human, financial and economic resources to support a viable local development strategy the area must be small enough to be cohesive and large enough to ensure that development can be generated from within the area

7. T HE L OCAL A CTION G ROUP (LAG) The LAG has the task of identifying and implementing a local development strategy LAG should include representatives of all sectors of the region in which it operates, i.e.: professional organisations and unions (representing farmers, non-farming professionals and micro-enterprises), trade associations, citizens, residents and their local organisations, local political representatives, environmental associations, cultural and community service providers, including the media, women's associations, young people.

8. T HE I NNOVATIVE A PPROACH innovation is encouraged by allowing LAGs wide margins of freedom and flexibility in making decisions about the actions they want to support Innovation in rural areas may imply the transfer and adaptation of innovations developed elsewhere

9. I NTEGRATED & M ULTI SECTORAL APPROACH The actions and projects contained in local strategies (LDS) should be linked and coordinated as a coherent whole Integration between sectors and actors is a fundamental element of the LEADER approach

10. N ETWORKING Exchange of achievements, experiences and know-how between LEADER groups, rural areas, administrations and organisations involved in rural development Networking forges links between people, projects and rural areas and so can help overcome the isolation faced by some rural regions

11. C OOPERATION Cooperation projects are not just simple exchanges of experiences. They must involve a concrete joint project Cooperation involves a local action group undertaking a joint project with another LEADER group, or with a group taking a similar approach, in another region or even country Cooperation can help LEADER groups to boost their local activities

12. I S THE LEADER APPROACH SUITABLE FOR G EORGIA ? NO DOUBTS ! There is a need for that and there are people ready to take responsibility for the development of their rural communities BUT... It must be carefully tailored to the Georgian realms It should be focused on capacity building first

13. dr Karol Janas Institute of Urban Development Central and East European Development Studies 30-015 Kraków, ul. Cieszyńska 2, Poland kjanas@irm.krakow.pl The Leader method – transferring V4 experiences to Georgia Project seminar in Tbilisi, 5 March 2015 Georgian Foundation For Strategic and International Studies The Leader Approach Aims and Basic Principles Thank you For your attention!