The implementation of a multifunctional and sustainable model of development of rural areas means a process of social change. The subject of that change are the residents of rural areas. The network ...of co-operation, the will to co-operate and the level of trust that characterise them and that constitute the components of social capital determine the chances for the introduction of assumptions of the paradigm of renewal. Local action groups formed, for instance, within the framework of the LEADER+ programme and their potential may become a factor stimulating or – in the areas that are socially more active, supporting the cooperation of the rural population. The problem discussed in the article relates, therefore, to the potential of the social capital of Local Action Groups from the Łódzkie voivodeship. The purpose of the article is the presentation of results of empirical studies covering the components of that capital: trust, values and networks.
Opracowanie porusza problematykę coraz silniej rozwijających się w Polsce partnerstw lokalnych. Celem podjętych rozważań jest wskazanie istoty i znaczenia lokalnych grup działania, będących wyrazem ...partnerstwa lokalnego, dla modernizacji i rozwoju obszarów wiejskich. Rozważania podzielono na odrębne części odnoszące się do: ujęcia znaczeniowego partnerstwa lokalnego, lokalnych grup działania oraz do wybranych aspektów funkcjonowania LGD z terenu województwa łódzkiego.
The study explores the issues of growing local partnerships in Poland. The aim of the considerations is to indicate the essence and importance of local action groups, which are an expression of local partnership, for the modernization and development of rural areas. Considerations are divided into separate parts referring to: the concept of meaningful local partnership, local action groups, and to selected aspects of the functioning of LGDs in the Łódź Province.
A tanulmányban kérdőíves felmérésünk eredményeire támaszkodva bemutatjuk a 2007-ben megalakult LEADER HACS-ok fontosabb működési jellemzőit. Országos felmérésünkből kiderül, hogy nincsen hagyománya, ...gyakorlata a fejlesztésekben való együttműködésnek, holott a helyi program végrehajtása nagymértékben múlik a helyi társadalom felkészültségén, az emberek és szervezetek együttműködésén. A HACS-ok által lefedett térségek fejlődését több vonatkozásban a humán erőforrások, a vidéki emberek és közösségeik (az ún. szoft tényezők) hiányosságai gátolják, következésképpen sürgető a humán erőforrások fejlesztése is. A HACS-ok feladatuknak a támogatási források odaítélését tartják, ami fontos, de korántsem elégséges ahhoz, hogy a tőlük elvárt, a helyi vidékfejlesztési stratégiák végrehajtásában betöltendő katalizátor szerepüket ellássák. Ehhez elengedhetetlen az akciócsoportok társadalomszervező szerepvállalása, a helyi közösségek cselekvőképessége érdekében. A szubszidiaritással összhangban a vidékfejlesztést a helyi közösségek által irányítottan szükséges eldönteni és megvalósítani. A felmérés szerint a HACS-ok erős kormányzati befolyás és kontroll mellett decentralizáltan, de a szubszidiaritás híján működnek. A jelenlegi struktúrában a HACS-ok – az ellátott feladatokkal kapcsolatban felmerülő működési kiadásainak – finanszírozása nemzeti és uniós forrásokból történik, az elszámolható kiadások 100%-ának mértékéig. Az elszámolás adminisztrációja jelentős terhet ró a HACS-okra. Ahhoz, hogy az akciócsoportok betölthessék valós, helyi fejlődést katalizáló szerepüket, fel kell ismerniük küldetésüket, szabályozási és finanszírozási oldalról pedig segíteni szükséges, hogy a tőlük elvárt feladatokat ellássák. --- Based on the results of our questionnaire survey, our study presents the major operational features of LEADER LAGs established in Hungary in 2007. Our national survey revealed that there were no traditions or practices for development cooperation, while the successful local implementation of the programme depends to a great extent on the level of preparation of the local society and on the cooperation of local people and organisations. The development of areas covered by LAGs is hindered by insufficiencies in human resources, of rural people and communities (the so-called soft factors). This makes the development of human resources an urgent task. LAGs consider their principal task to be the securing of grant funds. This is obviously necessary, but far from sufficient to fulfil their role as a catalyst in the implementation of local rural development strategies. For this purpose, it is essential for action groups to play a proactive role in organizing and thereby increase the capacity of local communities. In accordance with the basic principle of subsidiarity, rural development should be implemented locally, managed by local communities, and decisions should be made at local levels.The survey points out that LAGs operate under strong government influence and control, in a decentralized manner but without subsidiarity. In the present structure, the activities of LAGs are predominantly financed from central (national and EU) resources, covering 100 per cent of the eligible costs. Cost accounting is a significant administrative burden for LAGs. In order for action groups to fulfil their real roles to boost local development, they need to recognize their mission; also, from the financing and regulatory side, they must be given support in completing the tasks expected from them.
Good governance approaches in policy formulation and implementation - based on key concepts like participation, networking, transparency and accountability - are more and more adopted by the EU in ...addressing its rural policies reforms. Public Administrations at all levels should be evaluated with respect to their capacity to respect good governance principles. First, on the basis of a meta-analysis of ongoing initiatives (e.g. the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators), a methodological framework for assessing the quality of new governance modes is presented. Secondly, on the basis of case-studies in Italy, the monitoring and evaluation tools currently used by the European Commission to assess Administrations’ performances in rural development programs and Leader approach are compared with the proposed framework. Gaps are identified and discussed. Findings demonstrate, among others, the weakness of the European evaluation system in the analysis of the cost/benefit ratio of (local) governance and non market (environmental, social, distributive) effects.
In this article the authors focus on two important innovations for agri-environmental measures in the new council regulation: The implementation of local action groups and a call for tenders. The ...article describes how relevant actors assess the innovations. The results are based on 276 interviews, carried out in 2006 in nine EU Member States. Generally, actors assume that measures designed in local action groups are not necessarily more economically efficient than current measures, but they do have potential to result in a higher ecological effectiveness and in a greater acceptance. However, the opinion on auctions is comparatively critical.
In this article the authors focus on two important innovations for agri-environmental measures in the new council regulation: The implementation of local action groups and a call for tenders. The ...article describes how relevant actors assess the innovations. The results are based on 276 interviews, carried out in 2006 in nine EU Member States. Generally, actors assume that measures designed in local action groups are not necessarily more economically efficient than current measures, but they do have potential to result in a higher ecological effectiveness and in a greater acceptance. However, the opinion on auctions is comparatively critical.
The new European Council Regulation on support for rural development(EC) No. 1698/2005 has opened up the opportunity for twoimportant innovations for the design and implementation of ...agrienvironmentalmeasures: local action groups (LAG) according tothe LEADER approach and calls for tender. The article firstly reviewsthe political and scientific debate on the possible performanceof these innovations and, secondly, analyses how agents inpublic administrations, private associations and research institutesassess them. This ex-ante evaluation is based on 279 interviews innine EU member states, carried out in the context of an EU-researchproject in the Sixth Framework Programme in 2006. The resultsshow that (1) the performance of LAG is generally rated higher thanthat of auctions, (2) different actors show similar evaluation patterns,thus forming advocacy coalitions, and (3) experiences andlearning may play an important role in the actors’ evaluation of bothinnovations.
The new European Council Regulation on support for rural development (EC) No. 1698/2005 has opened up the opportunity for two important innovations for the design and implementation of ...agrienvironmental measures: local action groups (LAG) according to the LEADER approach and calls for tender. The article firstly reviews the political and scientific debate on the possible performance of these innovations and, secondly, analyses how agents in public administrations, private associations and research institutes assess them. This ex-ante evaluation is based on 279 interviews in nine EU member states, carried out in the context of an EU-research project in the Sixth Framework Programme in 2006. The results show that (1) the performance of LAG is generally rated higher than that of auctions, (2) different actors show similar evaluation patterns, thus forming advocacy coalitions, and (3) experiences and learning may play an important role in the actors’ evaluation of both innovations.
In this article the authors focus on two important innovations for agri-environmental measures in the new council regulation: The implementation of local action groups and a call for tenders. The ...article describes how relevant actors assess the innovations. The results are based on 276 interviews, carried out in 2006 in nine EU Member States. Generally, actors assume that measures designed in local action groups are not necessarily more economically efficient than current measures, but they do have potential to result in a higher ecological effectiveness and in a greater acceptance. However, the opinion on auctions is comparatively critical.
