A new study by Stefan Kah, Neli Georgieva and Liliana Fonseca of EPRC, carried out for the REGI Committee of the European Parliament, looks at the role of EU Cohesion Policy in rural areas. The study analyses the challenges of these areas and discusses the extent and thematic orientation of rural Cohesion Policy funding. The study then presents the relationship between … [Read more...]
Publications
“Which future do you want in rural areas?”
From May to August 2020, 3 436 people from 26 different countries answered the survey which was carried out by ELARD, the European association of LEADER groups, in cooperation with REDR, the Spanish rural development network. The aim of the survey was to find out what rural citizens and actors think of life in rural areas. What is important and does the LEADER/CLLD approach … [Read more...]
Social Innovation, Societal Change, and the Role of Policies
In this new paper in the journal SUSTAINABILITY the authors explore the links between social innovation and policy and the "triadic relationships" between the state, intermediary organizations, and local actors. Authors: Robert Lukesch, Alice Ludvig, Richard Slee, Gerhard Weiss, Ivana Zivojinovic Abstract: Political frameworks and policies have a strong influence … [Read more...]
Post COVID-19 Futures; Changing Work and Re-Thinking Skills
Peter Lloyd has been among the active contributors to the series of webinars on ‘Rebuilding local economies after lockdown’. In a new paper, Peter and his co-author, Michael Blakemore, make a valuable contextual contribution to this debate focusing on work and skills. They see scope for making an opportunity out of the crisis and argue that … “The skills people should … [Read more...]
More updates – Local responses to the COVID-19 crisis: What’s happening, what can we learn?
Several organisations are collecting and publishing local initiatives in response to the Covid-19 crisis. We have updated our overview and are offering below the links to a number of these initiatives (see sections 1 and 2). We have also conducted a number of discussions in June/July 2020 through the webinar series ‘Rebuilding local economies after lockdown’. You can see … [Read more...]
Delivering CLLD effectively: a new guide on how to design delivery systems that strengthen the bottom-up approach
FARNET has just published its latest guide, on “Delivering CLLD effectively”. Although labelled “A guide for EMFF Managing Authorities”, in fact, it can be useful for the managing authorities of CLLD under any of the ESI Funds and it is, of course, of considerable interest to local development experts. The guide aims to address one of the key issues identified by CLLD … [Read more...]
LDnet: a community of experts building bridges between research and practice
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...]
The LEADER Approach and Social Innovation in Rural Areas – a Liaison?
R. Lukesch, H. Gassler, B. Ecker, L. Fidlschuster, M. Fischer, S. Mair, S. Philipp, N. Said[1] Abstract –The research project SILEA aimed at exploring the significance, extent and possible effects of Social Innovation in the framework of the LEADER Measure of the Austrian Rural Development Program 2014-20. The study leaned onto a complex mix of methods combining a … [Read more...]
4th European Rural Parliament – Let Europe´s rural voice be heard
The 4th European Rural Parliament took place in the rural, green north of Spain, in the coastal village of Candás (Asturias) from 6th to 9th November 2019. Alistair Adam Hernández participated and his report is presented below. I attended the ERP as LDnet representative and was kindly invited to join the German delegation. The choice of venue seemed deliberate, as attendees … [Read more...]
Social innovation in LEADER areas in Austria
We present below the summaries of three case studies from the SILEA research project on social innovation in LEADER areas (2014-2020) in Austria. The first and second case studies are similar concerning the thematic field – local coordination of informal voluntary work – but different in their outcomes. Both have delivered successful and illustrative examples of social … [Read more...]
The European Parliament’s role in cohesion policy since the Lisbon Treaty
This new study was commissioned by the European Parliament's REGI Committee and was carried out between April and July 2019. On 4 December 2019, it was presented by its authors, Haris Martinos and Serafin Pazos-Vidal, and was discussed by the REGI Committee. The study highlights the crucial role of the European Parliament in supporting a comprehensive, multi-sector and … [Read more...]
The agripolitan city, the cosmopolitan village
“La ciudad agropolitana. La aldea cosmopolita” (The agripolitan city, the cosmopolitan village) is a new book by Jaime Izquierdo Vallina who has written extensively on urban-rural issues, nature conservation, and new perspectives for approaching rural areas. In his prologue to the book, Yves Champetier has highlighted that over the years, Jaime Izquierdo Vallina has deepened … [Read more...]