LEADER for community resilience and security

In response to recent geopolitical crises, Local Action Groups (LAGs) in some countries have developed initiatives to increase resilience and security in local rural communities, thus contributing to increased crisis preparedness. To learn more, we spoke to the LEADER Managing Authorities and National Networks in five countries in the Baltic Sea Region: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland.

Let us guide you through these countries’ LEADER ambitions, get a glimpse of the state of play of LEADER implementation, and gain insights into LEADER LAGs’ activities related to resilience and security at the community level.

High ambitions for LEADER

Quality rural living, services, innovation, people and businesses are the key themes of the Local Development Strategies (LDS) of many LAGs across this part of Europe.

In Estonia, LEADER is expected to contribute to developing an attractive living and business environment in rural areas and to developing active and cohesive rural communities. Based on the Estonian CAP Strategic Plan (CSP), LDSs can focus on the following broad priorities: developing entrepreneurship, empowering local communities, residents, and future young leaders, improving access to services, developing and implementing environment and climate-friendly solutions, and maintaining and promoting a positive image of rural life, including the promotion of Smart Villages. If an LDS also contributes to European Social Funds + (ESF+) objectives, it also includes a separate measure focusing on improving the availability and quality of long-term care services and alleviating the care burden, ensuring human dignity and increasing social inclusion.

Finland aims to make LEADER stronger by making the most of new measures and support mechanisms, focusing mainly on small businesses and rural start-ups, as well as enhancing and strengthening networking within LEADER.

Latvia aims to create new jobs, contribute to a more sustainable use of local resources, and introduce digital and innovative solutions. It also aims to preserve and create a quality living environment and local services through LEADER to address rural challenges, including a declining population and lower levels of entrepreneurship compared to urban areas.

Lithuania aims to develop a methodology for assessing the added value of LEADER and collect relevant baseline data for this purpose, based on the European Commission Guidelines on Assessing the Added Value of LEADER (and adapted to the Lithuanian context).

In Poland, the main purpose of LEADER is to build a local identity based on the engagement of the local population and using local resources to meet the needs of rural communities, including through knowledge, innovation and digital solutions.

LEADER implementation is on track

Local projects have started in all five countries in line with their approved LDS.

In Estonia, LAGs published the first calls for projects in February-March 2024. Each LAG was able to decide on the timing of these calls to suit local circumstances. Applicants could submit their proposals through Estonia’s digital platform for rural development funding (e-PRIA).

The Smart Villages Programme in Estonia involves 13 LAGs and 24 villages. The programme focuses on Smart Village strategies and innovative pilot activities related to digital solutions, green initiatives and community-based services.

The launch of lump-sum payments for small-scale projects to accelerate the disbursement of funds and simplify administrative procedures has not been without its challenges. In the true spirit of cooperation and dialogue, the Managing Authority, Paying Agency and the LAGs hold regular joint meetings to resolve relevant problems. This article provides further insights into the implementation of lump sums in LEADER in Estonia. 

Finnish LAGs launched their first calls for projects in the summer of 2023, and, by March 2025, 40% of the LAG budgets for 2023-2027 had been committed for 4 200 approved projects. More than half of these projects support small businesses, followed by investments in rural areas (local services, village houses, outdoor activities, environmental and climate), cooperation, and small projects. 36 Smart Village strategies have also gained support.

There are a broad range of local strategic priorities, with two main topic areas emerging: villages and social inclusion, and entrepreneurship, employment and vitality. Other important local priorities for LAGs include nature, environment, climate and sustainability; services, housing, and comfort; and children and young people. Some LAGs also covered wellbeing, recreation, culture, innovativeness, competence, future youth, and tourism among their strategic priorities. The most common cross-cutting themes include sustainable development, cooperation, digitalisation, children, youth, the elderly, and climate change and the environment. Innovation seems to be running through all themes as a cross-cutting approach. 

In Latvia, all LAGs had launched at least one call for projects by the end of 2024, and, by the end of March 2025,  638 projects had been approved, with a total funding of EUR 12.2 million, representing 21 % of the LEADER budget.

So far, the number of project applications is lower than in the previous programming period, particularly in the eastern border regions. This moderate interest in applying for funding can be attributed to several causes, including rural businesses focusing on maintaining their core activities instead of launching new investments in the context of the current economic and security situation, lower support rates available for business start-ups and business development, as well as difficulties in obtaining loans needed for match funding.

With the aim of increasing applications, and based on feedback provided by LAGs to the national authorities, the Managing Authority has responded by amending the CAP Strategic Plan and making advance payments available for LEADER projects. In other cases, some LAGs amended their strategies to better respond to community needs, based on their experiences with the first calls for projects. Analysis so far showed that applicants mainly focus on projects that benefit the local population, improve their territory, create leisure activity services, and promote start-ups and non-agricultural businesses.

Lithuanian LAGs launched the first calls for projects in February 2024, primarily based on thematic Local Development Strategies. Out of 49 Lithuanian LAGs, 41 chose to focus their LDS on a small number of key local needs and strategic objectives to achieve greater benefits and added value for their territories. The main themes selected overall relate to the economy, social services, tourism, and sustainability. You can find more details about the new LEADER calls in Lithuania in this article.

In Poland, LAGs started to launch calls for projects in December 2024, and by the end of April 2025, 197 calls had been launched in 15 out of the 16 Polish regions. One region is still to launch their calls. The amount of aid requested based on these calls represents around 9% of the LEADER budget. Key themes for these calls include business development and non-agricultural economic activities, access to small public infrastructure, access to local community services, social inclusion (focusing on senior citizens, youth and disadvantaged people), and shaping civic awareness. A new IT system for the management of applications is being introduced and continuously improved by the Paying Agency. The system will cover both LDS management and LDS implementation, and all elements of the system are expected to be in use by the end of 2025.

Security and resilience at the heart of community well-being

In the light of current geopolitical crises, there is a growing appreciation both at the national and the local levels that there is no community well-being without a feeling of safety, and there is no safety without resilient communities being well prepared for managing crisis situations. This recognition is leading LAGs in some Member States bordering the Russian Federation to take action at the local level. 

Latvian LAGs have recognised the importance of security, including food security. This is reflected in several initiatives focusing on the ability of local rural territories to ‘feed themselves’. The project ‘Towards a self-sufficient community’, implemented in cooperation by several Latvian LAGs (Aizkraukles rajona partnerība (lead partner), Bauskas rajona lauku partnerība, partnerība Kaimiņi and Preiļu-Līvānu novadu partnerība - Kūpā) in the 2014-2020 programming period, identified food resources in the specific LAG territories and promoted the development of short supply chains for improved self-sufficiency.

The  LAG Krāslavas rajona partnerība supported the organisation of the High-Level Forum ‘Security and Community Resilience in Latvia’s Eastern Border Region’, where representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Culture, the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation, and representatives of local governments in the Latgale region of Latvia discussed security and resilience in the border area and the role of civil society in promoting resilience. The LAG also organised several other events where civil protection featured among the main themes, including the meeting ‘Security: the basis and purpose of community’, which involved experts and the local communities.

The LAG Ludzas rajona partnerība  actively promotes community resilience, for example by compiling and publishing a list of local organisations (e.g. NGOs, parish groups, cultural centres) with contact details, thus promoting community cooperation. It also created a ‘Security’ section on its website, listing useful contacts and information for the Ludza municipality to improve security and action in emergency situations. The project ‘Security in the EU and Latvia border area in Ludza Municipality starts with each citizen’, implemented with the support of the Ministry of Defence, included forums and discussions with local citizens in 25 administrative territories of Ludza municipality.

In Finland, the theme ‘preparedness’ is clearly among the key priorities of LAGs- the Finnish rural development projects database identifies 131 LEADER projects when a search is made with this keyword.

For example, the project ‘Safe everyday villages in Hollola'  aims to improve functional models that promote safety and resilience in villages not only for permanent residents, but also for summer residents, tourists and occasional visitors. Village evenings, workshops, reviews, and surveys are being organised, involving the villages and local authorities, as well as non-permanent residents in Laatia village. The project is developing a village safety team and working on a plan to address contingencies related to storms, water supply disruptions, flooding, fires and other circumstances. They are also developing an event safety guide and a village event rescue plan template. The involvement of local people in planning the relevant operations, training and communication is key to the project.

Similarly, the project ‘A safe future in the villages’ is based on the recognition that village security and crisis preparedness are essential to the well-being and resilience of local communities. It aims to improve community capacity to face various crisis situations by raising awareness, drawing up safety plans, increasing local people’s competence in first aid, crisis management and fire safety. The project includes the mapping of relevant equipment (to be purchased at a later stage), actions to improve village equipment, and the development of communication channels (e.g. village association website, social media groups), as well as training and cooperation with local authorities. The project will be implemented together with the villages of Kangosjärvi, Ylimuonio, Kajanki, Särkijärvi, Olos, Kerässieppi, and Jeris.

Further resources

If you are interested in how LEADER is being implemented across the EU, check our recent article about the state of the art of the new LEADER calls in Austria, Italy and Lithuania.

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Key information about LEADER is available in the dedicated section of the EU CAP Network website. The LAG Directory already includes 1 825 operational LAGs in the EU (out of 2 600 selected) and keeps being updated with information as it is provided from the Managing Authorities.

You can also explore the website section dedicated to LEADER Transnational Cooperation (TNC), which is also continuously updated.