New LEADER calls: the state of the art in Austria, Italy and Lithuania

New LEADER calls: the state of the art in Austria, Italy and Lithuania

As presented at the latest LEADER and Territorial Development Subgroup meeting, Member States (MS) are at different stages of implementing their Local Development Strategies (LDS). In most countries, LAGs have completed the process of selection and many have already opened calls for projects. Some LAGs have already received at least one payment (or advance) for running costs and others have already received payments for at least one project.

A shared ambition across MSs is to make the most out of the LEADER programme and to tap into the full potential of rural areas, focusing on specific priorities that reflect the needs (and the resources) of the local communities. We spoke to the LEADER Managing Authorities and National Networks in Austria, Italy and Lithuania to learn how the process has been going so far, what they expect for the future and which examples they would like to share more widely.

Austria: LEADER for local solutions to global (and local) challenges

In Austria, LEADER activities started in July 2023, with 184 calls for LEADER projects launched by their 83 LAGs during 2023. The country is experiencing a smooth transition from the 2014-2020 programming period to LEADER under the CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs), with all previously existing LAGs continuing their work and six new LAGs selected for this period. Local Development Strategies (LDS) in this period will be focused around four broad themes: business, nature and culture, basic services and climate change.

To date, most of the calls for projects by the Austrian LAGs are general, inviting project proposals across all four themes. Some of the specific ones have focused on youth and natural and cultural resources.

A notable innovation in Austria has been the introduction of a new digital platform to digitalise calls, applications, approvals and payments. However, during the co-design phase between the Managing Authority, Paying Agency and the LAGs, the already extant bureaucracy became more prominent and created a little bit of scepticism towards the new digital process. The new platform is requiring joint learning from all involved but is progressing steadily.

Austria aims to continue using LEADER’s potential to find innovative, digital and local solutions to adapt to global challenges. There is an aim to strengthen the cooperation between cities and their surrounding areas, with potential for ‘functional partnerships’. Large cities (up to 110 000 inhabitants) can become partners in the LAG and undertake cooperation projects in the surrounding area. The Smart Village concept has been implemented in LEADER, focusing on digitisation and participation of the local population.

Austria is introducing a new monitoring system to capture, understand and communicate the added value of LEADER better. This was presented by Christa Rockenbauer-Peirl from the Managing Authority at the EU CAP Network Good Practice Workshop: How to assess the LEADER added value in November 2023.

LAGs are being supported with this by the Austrian National Network. They have also created factsheets and online self-learning tools on, e.g., resilience and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The CSP is also funding training on ‘management in a regional context’. LEADER is seen as an important tool to implement the ‘Austrian Regional Strategy’, and the LAGs have been involved in the creation process. A notable good practice was that when writing their LDSs, the LAGs had to review and coordinate with existing strategies at the federal and state levels. They also had to show how they planned to cooperate with other regional authorities or structures within their territory, such as the Austrian model regions for climate change adaptation and the MINT regions.

Networking is one of the seven core principles of LEADER, and the Austrian LEADER Forum association provides an opportunity for LAG managers to work together, share experiences and support each other. One spokesperson from the LEADER Forum represents the LAG managers in any Managing Authority-run working groups.

Italy: Focus on Smart Villages

The Italian LAGs that have already been selected have started the process of animation in rural areas and undertaken some accompanying activities for strategic initiatives such as Smart Villages and agricultural start-ups. Calls for projects have been published in some regions, and the first local beneficiaries have been selected. The most popular actions taken so far relate to projects creating new businesses, promoting local food, developing services and Smart Village actions.

In Italy, LEADER has been given the task of contributing to achieving the objectives of the Long-term Vision for Rural Areas. Innovation is a strong element of the LEADER support provided to businesses and community enterprises. Innovation is not limited to technology, it is also encouraged in the social, organisational and cultural sense.

With LAGs focusing more and more on civic participation, social innovation, services and cooperation, the role of community projects or Smart Village strategies is becoming more prominent. This can be seen, for example, in the work of the LAG ‘Escartons e Valli Valdesi’ in the Piemonte region, which has been ‘reactivating’ local communities since 2020-2021 through initiatives such as 'GALeotte saranno le Valli'. This ‘one-stop-shop’ provides information on a wide range of services, improving access and promoting community-based enterprises. The initiative is based on a collaboration between the Turin Chamber of Commerce, local cooperatives, NGOs and associations which worked together to develop innovative co-working spaces. The LAG considers Smart Villages as the ideal approach to strengthen local communities. They identified 48 Smart Village proposals by May 2024 and launched a capacity-building process to further support their development.

The Italian Network is supporting the Smart Village approach through a series of initiatives such as Smart Rural Hub, a collaborative lab to improve LAGs’ knowledge of the Smart Villages concept. The lab contributed to sharing and developing methodologies and practical tools, such as the Smart Village methodological guide and the Smart Village and Smart Community Workshop in Local Development Strategies.

The Italian Network is organising capacity-building and networking initiatives such as the regional Start-up LEADER training and information sessions helping LAGs prepare for the launch of their LDSs for 2023-2027. Open LEADER has helped identify and validate key indicators to monitor LEADER progress, sharing the work of and establishing cooperation with the Evaluation Helpdesk of the EU CAP Network and gathering useful national and EU-level LEADER documents in one place. In addition, the National Network supported LAG-led initiatives such as the LEADER Youth Forum, a free training initiative aiming to deepen young people’s knowledge of participatory local development.

Lithuania: Focus on social and community business

In Lithuania, all Local Development Strategies were approved by the end of 2023 and the first calls were launched in February 2024. Most LDSs focus on a well-defined set of priority themes, the main ones being local economy, social services, tourism and sustainability. A thematic focus helps LAGs use their resources more effectively.

Each previous period of LEADER implementation has been different and full of challenges, which has resulted in many useful lessons being learnt and prompted a constant search for the most effective ways to strengthen the economic and social development of local communities. The key learning for Lithuanian LAGs from the 2014-2020 programming period related to focusing on specific LDS themes, such as businesses and job creation (the primary focus of all LDSs in Lithuania in that period). By the end of 2024, 3 039 jobs have been created through local projects. In the country, LEADER has pioneered a methodology for funding social and community enterprises and a system for measuring their impact, and ‘Guidelines for Social Business’ have been developed as a basis for the development of a national framework for financing social business.

One of the ambitions in the new programming period is to develop a methodology for assessing the added value of LEADER and collect relevant baseline data, using the EU CAP Network Guidelines on Assessing the Added Value of LEADER as a basis and adapting the methodology to the Lithuanian context as necessary. A two-day training course on ‘Assessing the Added Value of LEADER’ for LAGs and other stakeholders was organised in November 2024 with the support of the European CAP Evaluation Helpdesk.

An interesting experience from Lithuania is the work of the LAG Pajūrio kraštas and its local project ‘Developing a short food supply chain in the village of Brožiai by involving local producers and the community’. Fresh vegetables grown by local farmers are processed, vacuum-packed and frozen in a vegetable processing workshop set up by the Brožiai village community. The fresh vegetables and meat bones are used to cook a concentrated broth in a high-pressure boiler, then sold to customers, with priority given to local schools and kindergartens. The community of Brožiai has successfully integrated bioeconomy principles (zero-waste production) into its production processes with the support of LEADER.

Looking forward

As LEADER project calls are being published across the EU, we will keep an eye on future developments across the EU, and we will bring you more updates and stories from the ground through the LEADER newsletter. Sign up for the EU CAP Network newsletter as well for monthly updates and follow @EUCAPNetwork on social media for daily news!

Find out about LEADER across Europe in the dedicated section of the EU CAP Network website, including the LAG Directory, which already includes over 1 700 operational LAGs in the EU (out of 2 600 selected) and is regularly updated with information from the Managing Authorities as it is provided.

Also explore the brand-new website section dedicated to LEADER Transnational Cooperation (TNC).