LEADERasavehicleforneoendogenous ruraldevelopmentinEngland

GaryBosworth,IvanAnnibal,TerryCarroll, LizPrice,JessicaSellick &JohnShepherd

ESRSXXV,Florence,July29th August1st 2013

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Focus for Research

(i) Thebalanceofpowerbetweenlocalactors and(trans)nationalobjectives (ii) Thecommunicationandnetworksthat enableLEADERtofunctioneffectivelyata locallevel.

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Key Literature
LAGs benefitfromastronglocalvoluntaryandcommunitysector,some engagetheprivatesectortoboostcapacity(Ekosgen,2011) Therecanalsobeselfselectingdisparitiesinparticipation,e.g.under representationofprotestantcommunity,womenandfarmersinN.Ireland
(Shortall,2008)

Reactivegroupsratherthanabottomupforce? AhistoryofpartnershipworkinghelpstostrengthentheLAGand improve itseffectiveness(RDC2005), butfewLAGs benefitedfromcontinuity betweenLEADERprogrammes mosthadnopermanentgovernance structure[and]existedmerelytodealwithfundingwhileitwas there
(Carnegie,2010)

IrishLAGs feltthatDARDwastoodirectivewithinsufficientflexibilityto allowthemtorespondtolocalproblemsandopportunities (Murtagh,2006)

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The importance of local autonomy

AutonomousLAGSshowbetterresultsindevelopinglocalskillsand potential,strategicthinkingandmonitoringthedevelopmentoftheirarea inastructuredway(Metis etal.2010) Lowautonomyreduceslocallearningandcanrisklocalpartnershipsbeing dependentonfundingprogrammesratherthandevelopingas endogenousinstitutions onlyanoptionforbeginnerLAGs (Metis etal.
2010)

Policyentrepreneurs arekeytoconnectingdifferentbodiesand facilitatingaction(Bocher,2011) Difficultiesinterpretingspecificmeasuresandobtainingclarificationsfrom RDAs andDEFRA(Hyder andADAS,2010) Thedegreeoflocalcontrolislimitedtoasetofgoalsandelements containedwithintheprogramme&LAGs relyontechnicalexpertisefrom CountyCouncilreinforcingthelackofempowerment(Convery etal.2010)

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Self-evaluation and local empowerment

DuringLEADER+,therewaslimitedsuccessinfosteringevaluation capacityandlocalownershipofthemonitoringandevaluationprocess
(Metis,AEIDL&CEU,2010)

InSpaintheevaluationprocessfocusedprimarilyontheinformation requiredbytheresponsibleauthoritytorespondtotheEUandonly secondlytotheprioritiesofpeopleactuallyinvolvedinLEADER partnerships(DiazPuenteetal.2008) Furmankiewicz &Janc (2011)notethateffectivebottomupprocesses requireselfevaluationforlocalisedlearningwhichcontradictstheEU needforstandardisedevaluationtocomparesuccess.

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Networks and communication

LessonslearnedintheCzechRepublicinclude:itiseasiertolearntheLEADER methodthroughcooperationprojectsthanfromreadinginstructions (CSD2008) LAGs haveexperienceddifficultyindevelopingintraandinterregionallinks,and lackguidanceoninterLAGnetworking(Hyder andADAS,2010) ThevastmajorityofLAGs involvedintransnationalcooperationinLEADERIIdid notprogressbeyondexchangeofexperienceofexploratorytalks considerable collectiveeffortwasdeployedforrelativelylittletangiblebenefittothelocal economiesandcommunities (RuralDevelopmentCompany,FraserAssociatesand UniversityofGloucester,2005) TransnationalcooperationwithotherLAGs isconsideredoflittleimportancebut localnetworkinginparticularisconsideredveryuseful(RDC,2005) Itwasidentifiedthatcooperationwithinacountryhelpedimprovemanagement, reinforcelocalidentitiesandcreatinglastingruralnetworks. Transnational cooperationwasthoughttobelessimportant(Metis,AEIDL&CEU,2010)

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Methodology
AreviewofliteratureandotherLEADER evaluations Questionnairesenttoarangeofrural stakeholders generating549responses Interviewswithacombinedtotalof83key stakeholdersandbeneficiariesinselectedLAGs Twoworkshopstotestourfindingswithkey personnelinLEADERpolicyanddeliveryroles.
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Typology of LAGs
ThebasiccriteriaforsamplingcasestudyLAGs comprise: (a)topography (b)RDPEAxesandMeasures (c)theproportionofprogrammebudgetspent WiththedetailedboundariesfortheLAGareasthiswasalso thefirsttimethatotherdatacouldbemappedatthislevel thisincludedpopulation,ruralsettlement,IMD2010,stateof theeconomy(JSAdataetc)andeconomicstructurebased uponIDBRdata.

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Solway Cumbria

NorthumberlandUplands NorthPennineDales

NorthLincolnshire CoastalActionZone LindseyActionZone WashFens

Shropshire Worcestershire Herefordshire

EastCornwall ClayCountry WestCornwall

WestKent KentDownsandMarshes SurreyHill

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What Has LEADER done well?

Strongly Agree Promoting networking & sharing best practice1 Helping make the area a better place2 Taking a bottomup approach1 Supporting innovation2 Agree Neither agree/ disagree Disagree/ strongly disagree

23%

47%

23%

8%

45%

45%

7%

3%

42% 36%

41% 45%

11% 11%

6% 8%

1:Datafrom503usableresponses;2:Datafrom506usableresponses www.lincoln.ac.uk

The Positive Story

AkeyelementofLeaderssuccessisenablingdecisionstobedelegatedto ruralcommunitymembersandorganisationssothatdecisionsreflectlocal needsandanareaswishesfordevelopment (RuralServicesNetwork) Leaderisamodelthatworks;itmobilisesthelocalcommunityand economicactors,isdrivenbylocalneedandfundamentaltoeconomic development...aboutbeingthereforthelongterm andhelpingbusiness growthinyourlocalarea(throughunderstandingyourlocaleconomyand writingtheLDS)...Wecandoit,Leaderbuildsthecapacityand confidenceofcommunitymembers. (NorthDevon) ThebeautyofLeaderisthatitisforeachareatodefinewhatworksbest fortheirgovernance.Thereistheflexibilitytochoosepriorities.Thekey istogetstakeholderstogetherwhoarerelevant,notjustthatputtheir handsup,andtogetgenuinerepresentativeness.Thereisnoonesizefits allmodelforthebestwaytogovernaLAG. (LeaderExchangeGroup2013)

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However
Underrepresented groups remain a problem in some areas leading some LAGs to develop specifically funded projects to encourage their participationinruraldevelopment External policy relationships determine the scope for local policy impact. In England, the removal of the regional layer of government changed the natureofpolicynetworksandallowedmorefreedomatthelocallevel. LEADERexiststodelivertheRDPEanditspolicygoalsandtargets Neoendogenous development principals indicate that local potential is influencedbyexternalnetworks. Defra explainedthatthereisafalsesenseofequitythatLeadermoney shouldbeavailableeverywhere,butdifferentareasneeddifferent fundinglevels(determinedbyneed). CooperationprojectswerelesseffectiveinEngland Issuesof perceptionandcost.

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Opportunities identified by LAGs

Coveragecouldusefullyincludemarkettownsthatservekey functionsforruralhinterlands.Otherruralareaswerealso excludedbutlargergeographicalcoveragewillofcourse createcertainchallenges. Efficiencysavingscouldbemadefromcombiningbackoffice functions,withoutlosingthefocusonlocalissues. LAGs couldbenefitfromacomprehensivesetofgood practiceguidelinesbasedonexperienceofthecurrent programmeespeciallynewLEADERgroups. Thesemightinclude:recruitingmembers,handlingbids, conductingmeetings,contractingandmonitoring Aclearemphasisshouldremainonthevalueoflocalgroups applyinggoodpracticetomeetlocalcircumstances,andnot seekingtocreatetopdownuniformity.
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Concluding thoughts
Thepowerbalancecanbeimprovedbygreatercommunicationandlocal participationinthepreimplementationstages. ReportingandmonitoringcouldbebetteralignedtoLEADERobjectives, notjusteconomicmeasures. TheexperiencesfromEnglandhighlightdifficultiesintermsofmanaging risk,matchinglocalopportunitiestopredefinedmeasuresanddealing withbureaucracythroughouttheprocess. Italsohighlightsrealopportunities,however,aslocalactorshavebecome increasinglycapableatsupportingapplicantsanddevelopingapproaches tailoredtotheirlocalareas.

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Collaborative evaluation
Agreatershifttolocalcontrolcanbefacilitatedthroughrobustself evaluationandlocalisedlearning. Knowledgetransferisalreadybeingenhancedthroughtheendogenous emergenceofcollaborativeevaluation buttheapproachesand outcomesneedtobecapturedtobenefitothers. AmongsomeLAGs,itwassuggestedthatbeneficiariescouldplaymoreof anongoingroleheretoo. Asthepost2014situationbecomesclearer,therangeofreviews and evaluationsbeingconductedshouldbecollatedtoensurethatbest practiceisabletoguidepoliticiansandlocalactorsalikeintheirpursuitof furthereconomicandsocialdevelopmentinEuropesruralareas.

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References
Bcher M(2011)TheRoleofPolicyEntrepreneursinRegionalGovernanceProcesses.Presentedat the6thECPRgeneralconference,Reykjavik,August2427,2011 Carnegie(2010)ACommonRuralDevelopmentPolicy? http://www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/getattachment/f6e1e9629e0742cba42e6a8edccaeab9/A CommonRuralDevelopmentPolicy.aspx Convery,I.,Soane,I.,Dutson,T.&Shaw,H.(2010)MainstreamingLEADERDeliveryoftheRDRin Cumbria:AninterpretivePhenomenologicalAnalysis.Sociologia Ruralis 50(4)370391 Ekosgen (2011)NationalImpactAssessmentofLEADER reportforDEFRA: http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=NationalImpactAssessmentofLEADER.pdf Hyder andADAS(2009)MonitoringandEvaluation:PerspectivesofERDFEvaluators ReporttoDefra: http://archive.defra.gov.uk/rural/documents/rdpe/pmc/20090513paper7.pdf Metis GmbH,AEIDLandCEU(2010)ExpostEvaluationofLEADER+reportfortheEuropean Commission:http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/eval/reports/leaderplusexpost/index_en.htm Murtagh,B.(2006)EULEADER+200006ProgrammeforruraldevelopmentinNorthernIreland. Workingpaper.QueensUniversity,Belfast RuralDevelopmentCompany(RDC),FraserAssociatesandUniversityofGloucester(2005)An evidencebaseformainstreamingLEADERinEngland. Shortall,S.(2008)Areruraldevelopmentprogrammessociallyinclusive? Socialinclusion,civic engagement,participation,andsocialcapital:Exploringthedifferences. JournalofRuralStudies24(4) 450457

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Thank youany questions?

http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx? Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location= None&Completed=0&ProjectID=18472

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