Evaluation expertise: Assessments of LEADER’s added value

Understanding LEADER’s broad range of benefits in clear, consistent and comparable ways is important throughout the lifecycle of this local development method across the EU. Monitoring and evaluation of LEADER in the 2023-2027 period will thus continue to evolve and adapt to provide Local Action Groups (LAGs), Managing Authorities and the European Commission with the essential information that they need for future assessments. 

For starters, a new Thematic Working Group has been established by the European Evaluation Helpdesk for the CAP to help identify evaluation methods to effectively demonstrate LEADER’s added value in the coming years. It comprises LAG representatives from the EU countries, Managing Authority experts in LEADER, CAP evaluators and researchers, while DG AGRI has an oversight role.  

The Evaluation Helpdesk will facilitate meetings between these experts and consolidate their input into a guidance and toolkit designed around the working group’s objectives, which are: to consolidate the concept of LEADER added value with LEADER key stakeholders and to exchange practical experiences and research-based ideas on lessons learnt from the assessment of the LEADER added value; design examples of evaluation frameworks of the LEADER added value in the programming period 2023-2027; and propose practical examples (with emphasis on evaluation methods and tools) of how the LEADER added value can be assessed. 

The Evaluation Helpdesk will also build upon this work at a Good Practice Workshop on the added value of LEADER in Luxembourg towards the end of 2023. Furthermore, useful lessons from external LEADER evaluations examining the previous programming period are currently being combined with analysis from the Evaluation Helpdesk to explore the costs and benefits of LEADER’s implementation. This information will feed into the European Commission Staff Working Document, due to be published at the end of 2023.  

All of this useful work aims to provide user-friendly methodological support to EU Member States and LAGs for their ongoing monitoring and evaluation responsibilities with LEADER. Enhanced understanding of LEADER’s added value will also be secured from this support work, particularly for LAGs focused on benefiting EU rural communities and the effective implementation of CAP Strategic Plans.