This new award was launched on 15 October 2024 and is now open for applications. It aims to showcase great examples of how local communities and individuals are tackling economic, environmental, and social challenges to build rural resilience. It also seeks to boost local empowerment across Europe by helping applicants share their experiences, practices, and […]
Territorial development for the green transition: Harnessing the potential of rural communities
The Rural Pact is part of the European Commission’s Action Plan to achieve the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas by 2040. The Pact aims to mobilise all stakeholders interested in rural areas (public authorities, civil society, businesses, researchers, and individuals) to contribute to achieving the rural vision. An important function of the Rural Pact is […]
Territorial development for the green transition: Harnessing the potential of rural communities (19 September 2024)
This Policy Action Lab, organised by the Rural Pact Support Office, will explore key opportunities for rural communities to benefit from the green transition and enhance their territorial development tools. Building on the European Commision report ‘The long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas: key achievements and ways forward’, the Policy Action Lab aims to: reflect on […]
25 years of LEADER: What impacts?
The Austrian LAG Styrian Volcanic Land (Steirisches Vulkanland) wanted to know what its local development efforts stretching over a quarter of a century have been ultimately good for. This groundbreaking impact study was entrusted to an ÖAR team assisted by students from the Vienna University [1] Robert Lukesch The study aimed to evaluate the intended […]
Social innovation in rural areas
Rural areas depend on a wide range of economic engines for growth, as well as the quality of place to attract and retain people. Social innovation seeks new answers to social and environmental problems, using new solutions that improve the quality of life for individuals and communities. Social innovation can be a tool to create […]
Use of ‘factors of success’ in evaluation
According to Article 1 of the European Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1475 “When evaluating their CAP Strategic Plans, Member States shall define evaluation questions and factors of success to assess the evaluation criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and Union added value referred to in Article 140(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115”. ‘Factors of success’ are […]
Euracademy: Responsible Food Production and Consumption for a Sustainable Future, 16-20.6.2024, Greece
The 22nd Summer Academy of Euracademy will take place near Rafina in Attica, Greece, from 16 to 20 June 2024. The theme of the Academy is one of the closest to the heart of everyone, namely “Responsible Food Production and Consumption for a Sustainable Future” or what makes “Good Food” for us all. For further […]
Webinar on Fostering Resilience in Rural Communities
Sharing experiences from an innovative training and capacity-building programme for voluntary and professional rural development practitioners. This EU-level webinar on Fostering Resilience in Rural Communities took place on Tuesday 23 January 2024. It was attended by some 160 active participants. The event was organised as part of the REBOUND project and presented key concepts and […]
LEADER and multi-funded CLLD
The EU CAP Network has published a highlights report of its workshop on LEADER and multi-funded CLLD which was held in Ljubljana 18-19 October 2023. The workshop provided the opportunity to exchange experiences and the main challenges for the implementation of multi-funded CLLD at the Managing Authority /Paying Agency and operational level; as well as […]
LEADER European Congress 2023: LEADER, the Rural Pact & rural-urban interaction
The 2023 European LEADER Congress took place in Brussels on 18 and 19 December 2023 at the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee. This Congress is the first event to bring together as many European LAGs as possible in more than 15 years. It brought together more […]
Rural toolkit launch event
The Rural toolkit is an initiative of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and Joint Research Centre (JRC), in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). It is the first comprehensive online guide to EU funding and support opportunities for rural areas in the European Union. […]
Assessing the Added Value of LEADER
On 23 and 24 November 2023, some 60 evaluators, representatives from managing and paying authorities, LEADER networks and LAG managers met at the Kirchberg in Luxembourg city, at the invitation of the European Evaluation Helpdesk for the CAP and the Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development of Luxembourg. The central topic of this Good […]