LEADER in the Netherlands: a special case?

What are Dutch Local Action Groups (LAGs) working on? What are their priority topics and how are they helping rural communities face some of their most urgent challenges?

In this article, Bart Soldaat, coordinator of the Dutch LEADER Network (LEADER Netwerk Nederland – LNN), talks about the way LEADER is organised in the Netherlands and highlights why, in some respects, this is a bit of ‘a special case’ (facts and figures are included at the end of the article).

Bart reports that all 31 LAGs expect to deliver their Local Development Strategies and achieve their planned outputs by the end of the programming period, despite delays in launching calls and appointing LAG managers.

LEADER in the Netherlands: ‘a special case’

Dutch LAGs do not look like LAGs anywhere else in the EU.

While most Member States' LAGs have a legal entity of their own, with formal members, an elected Board and hired staff, Dutch LAGs have no separate legal entity or elected Board.

In the Netherlands, LAGs fall under a mandate from the regional authorities (provinces), which also approve the Local Development Strategies. LAG ‘Board’ members are drawn from local authorities, which nominate them directly, and from local businesses, NGOs and local residents (at least 50% of the ‘Board'). LAG managers are either hired through public procurement or are employees of local or regional government.

From social entrepreneurship to youth-led action

As Bart points out, most LAGs remain focused on LEADER's classic priorities: rural tourism, social cohesion and inclusion, preserving local heritage and culture and access to services.

A good example is the project ‘Op Eigen Benen’ (standing on your own feet) by the Dichter bij Huis (closer to home) Foundation. The Foundation brings people together around food, music and stories and is testing different revenue models to determine how to make the initiative self-sustainable.

With support from LEADER, the foundation is taking the step from social initiative to social entrepreneurship. Their new event, the Betuwse Bazaar, serves as a testing ground, bringing local entrepreneurs together around food, handicrafts, regional products, music, dance and poetry.

The bazaar is organised several times a year, each time with a different setup, prices and offerings. This helps the foundation find a revenue model that keeps the initiative accessible to newcomers and vulnerable residents.

However, LEADER is also being used to tackle issues that go beyond these traditional priorities, such as improving the housing situation and creating suitable employment opportunities. Youth is a key concern: “the ‘Right to stay’ is very much at the centre of attention,” explains Bart.

One response has been to put young people themselves in the driving seat. Two LAGs have created their own 'Youth LAGs', where young people from the area can allocate micro-funding to local initiatives from their peers.

Following the example of LAG Zuidwest Fryslan, the first to launch a ‘youth LAG’, LAG Zuidwest Twente offers micro-grants between EUR 300 and EUR 2 000 to young people (under 25) who come up with a good plan to benefit the young local population.

Each idea submitted for micro-funding is evaluated by the youth LAG, which has a total of EUR 75 000 at its disposal.

From local initiatives to climate action

As shown in Figure 1 below, most Local Development Strategies are addressing issues such as climate change and environmental sustainability. This reflects how LEADER contributes not only to the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) objective of ‘Jobs and growth in rural areas’ and improving social inclusion, but to many others too. LEADER is contributing to several other CAP objectives: ‘Contributing to climate mitigation’, ‘Efficient management of natural resources’ and ‘Halting and reversing biodiversity loss’. The method can really adapt to the challenges and opportunities of each local area.

One project, supported by LEADER Weidse Veenweiden, is looking at an environmental problem that starts in an everyday household activity: washing clothes.

The University of Amsterdam is investigating when and how plastic microfibres from washing clothes end up in the environment and how households can limit emissions.

Using a citizen science approach, local residents take measurements themselves and, together with researchers, collect usable data about their own living environment. They gain first-hand insight into how their washing habits affect water quality and what they can do to reduce emissions. The resulting knowledge provides not only cleaner ditches and ponds, but also concrete data for schools, water organisations and policymakers.

Another example is on the outskirts of Almere, where gardeners Hester and Juul established a self-harvest garden, Groene Pluk. Operating on a harvest-share model, the garden combines pesticide-free farming and regenerative soil management with opportunities to learn about healthy food and sustainable farming, enjoy nature and socialise. In this way, Groene Pluk brings together biodiversity, healthy food and soil, short supply chains and social interaction, creating a driving example for the region.

Agriculture is also an important part of the LEADER picture. At least one third of all LEADER-funded projects directly involve the agricultural sector, broadly in line with the previous programming period.

Bart points to the particular context of Dutch rural areas, where agricultural land and urban centres are often found in close proximity.

“In the Netherlands, many rural areas are very close to urban centres; on the other hand, almost two-thirds of the country’s total land mass is still dedicated to agricultural production, which is generally highly productive,” he says.

These examples and remarks show that, in the Netherlands, LEADER contributes to all ten CAP objectives, as shown in the graphic above.

A strong network behind Dutch LAGs

The projects may be rooted in individual communities, but Dutch LAGs do not work in isolation.

Dutch LAGs can count on the support of the Dutch LEADER Network (LNN), which, working closely with the National Support Unit (NSU), offers capacity-building activities (online and offline), knowledge and best-practice sharing and communications (quarterly newsletter, social media and WhatsApp groups).

The LNN was created in the previous programming period by the then 20 LAGs, which agreed to fund its running costs through a lump sum from their own budgets. Today, all 31 current LAGs support the LNN, and vice versa.

The annual National LEADER Day is a key highlight, bringing together LAG members, LAG managers and representatives from local, regional and national authorities. This year, it is scheduled to take place in October.

At EU level, the NSU participates in the EU CAP Network’s Subgroup on LEADER and Territorial Development, while the LNN is an active member of ELARD and regularly attends its meetings.

A clear return on investment

The projects and partnerships tell one part of the story. The funding figures tell another.

The average budget for each LAG is around EUR 2.6 million in public funding, with an average of 15% for running costs. In the Netherlands, the average national co-funding for LEADER projects is 40% (twice the required minimum), with the remaining 60%, on average, coming from the EU (see Figure 2).

Dutch LAGs also attract considerable public and private investment. “One euro invested by the European Commission, on average, results in more than four euros of total investments,” notes Bart.

The value of LEADER: 2027 and beyond

While implementation is well underway, Dutch LAGs are already looking towards the next programming period. All LAGs are committed to successfully implementing their Local Development Strategies over the coming two years.

In fact, some LAGs have already committed 100% of their budget to local projects and are negotiating with their province for additional funding for new projects and related running costs. Per 1 July 2026, EUR 44 million out of a total budget of EUR 81 million (EU and national co-financing) were committed (54%).

Already in 2024, the LNN set up a 'Thinking group’ of LAG coordinators to start preparing for the next period.

“Following the European Commission’s proposal in July 2025, we have developed a position paper in which we underline the added value of the LEADER methodology,” Bart explains. “We feel that the area-based, bottom-up approach and public-private partnership are exactly what is needed to address current and future challenges in European rural areas.”

“With the limited human resources that we have available, we try to make our position heard and understood by the local, regional and national authorities that are responsible for developing the Dutch National and Regional Partnership Plan (NRPP). Although the outcome is still unclear, we feel that momentum for LEADER is building.”

LEADER in the Netherlands: facts and figures

Thirty-five years of LEADER in the Netherlands have seen the programme grow from a single LAG to a network of 31 areas.

In the Netherlands, LEADER had a modest start with exactly one LAG during the LEADER I (1991-1993) period and four LAGs under LEADER II (1994-1999).

This changed during LEADER+, when more ‘relaxed’ criteria for areas to be eligible for the LEADER programme led to a seven-fold increase in the number of LAGs, to 28.

The number increased further to 30 LAGs in the subsequent period, before dropping again to 20 for the 2014–2022 programme, as national funding for LEADER was reduced to the European minimum of 5%.

Under the current CAP, the number increased again to 31. Despite the new LAGs only being selected in the first half of 2024, thus having only a short period (until 2027) to deliver, the new Local Development Strategies are well underway.

The scale of the areas covered is also distinctive. A Dutch LEADER area has on average over 167 000 inhabitants, or almost 200 inhabitants/km². Dutch rural areas are therefore quite densely populated.

The 31 LEADER areas cover, completely or partially, 209 of the 342 Dutch municipalities (61%). This represents 5.2 million people, or 28% of the total Dutch population, and around two-thirds of all Dutch rural areas.