Local development is multi-faceted with practitioners split between the urban and rural domains, while researchers come from different academic disciplines. A community of experts dealing with local development could help harvest lessons learnt and overcome silo mentality. LDnet and the European Commission are very keen on building bridges between research and practice and … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2019
Resilient Villages: “Vibrant rural communities are not afraid to take risks”
In his current research, LDnet board member, Alistair Adam-Hernández examines why some rural communities are able to adapt to change better than others. During the European Rural Sociology Conference 2019, “Rural Futures in a Complex World” in Trondheim (NO), an international group of social scientists discussed how this concept could enable rural communities to harness … [Read more...]
Debating CLLD as experimental governance and task-specific space for policy action
The Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) instrument is one of the most interesting “territorial delivery mechanisms” of the current EU 2014-2020 programming period. Built on the former LEADER project, it attempts to overcome the sectorial (rural or maritime) approach of the previous instrument through a more integrated local-development policy agenda for ad-hoc sub-regional … [Read more...]
Implementing cohesion policy funds through multi-Fund CLLD
Community-led Local Development (CLLD) was introduced in the 2014-20 programme period and is based on the well-established LEADER tool. While LEADER is distinctly rural, co-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), CLLD allows Member States to make use of up to four different ESI Funds: EAFRD, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), the … [Read more...]
Urban Innovative Actions: 20 new projects
Following the 4th UIA Call for Proposals, 20 new projects have been selected. The selected urban authorities will have the opportunity to try out creative, innovative and durable solutions to address the challenges linked to the digital transition, sustainable use of land and nature based solutions, urban poverty and urban security. For the description of the approved … [Read more...]
The European Parliament’s role in cohesion policy since the Lisbon Treaty
A new study highlights the crucial role of the European Parliament in supporting a comprehensive, multi-sector and multi-fund cohesion policy “for all regions” and in defending its principles, including the integrated territorial approach. It also points out the close links that Parliament enjoys with the regional and local levels throughout the EU. It argues that the … [Read more...]
Jelte Huizenga
When I joined Leda programme, in 1995, I met many high-level professionals, I learnt a lot from, Jelte Huizenga was one of them. The programme evolved in Leda Partenariat and Jelte was still there. Even if retired, he continued to be very active politically in his Almere (NL), and not only: he has been working unceasingly in the network, he has always rejected a leading role, … [Read more...]