Transcript Slide 1

Supporting communities in Rural
Scotland through the LEADER rural
development fund: past Present and
future
EPRC Seminar 21 January 2015
Ellie Brodie and Artur Steiner
SRUC, Rural Policy Centre
Land Economy, Environment and Society Group
Overview •
•
•
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What is LEADER
Key LEADER terms
How does LEADER work – the 7 principles
LEADER in practice – learning from 2007-2013
– Impact
– Challenges
• LEADER in focus: Capacity for Change
initiative
• What next for LEADER?
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What is LEADER?
• An acronym: Entre Actions de Développement de l'Économie
Rurale or ‘Links between the rural economy and development
actions’
• The aim of LEADER is to increase the capacity of local rural
community and business networks to build knowledge and skills,
and encourage innovation and co-operation in order to tackle
local development objectives.
• LEADER is funded through the EAFRD
• A bottom-up method of delivering support for rural
development through implementing Local Development
Strategies.
• Support is awarded by 21 Local Action Groups (LAGs) and is
aimed at local projects with a wide community benefit that
show an element of originality or experimentation, where
possible, and complement other activities within the Local
Development Strategy.
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LEADER Terminology
• Bottom up: driven by communities (rather than
government and other powerful organisations)
• Empowerment: the process by which disadvantaged
communities define their own needs and determine the
response that is made to them
• Animation: getting local people involved and excited about
the potential of area where they live so that they get
actively involved in implementing plans
• Capacity Building: raising people’s knowledge, awareness
and skills to use their own capacity to tackle their needs
– Implies understanding, communicating and taking decisions
– also implies knowledge gained from development process
• Community Led Local Development (CLLD) - a
methodology for delivering local development strategies
through a local development strategy
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The LEADER Approach
Area-based
Bottom-up
approach
Local financing and
management
Partnership approach
and Local Action Group
(LAG)
Networking and cooperation
Innovation
Integrated
approach
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Aims & aspirations of LEADER 2007 - 2013
Themes
Revitalising communities Progressive rural economy
Priorities
Sustainable communities
Sustainable energy
Sustainable tourism
Micro enterprise
Versatile rural workforce
Conservation of rural environment
Innovative value added products and markets
Example actions
Improving facilities & accessibility, e.g. ICT
Targeted & flexible local transport networks
Support uptake of local products
Recreational activities for young people
Networking of community & business initiatives
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What difference is LEADER making?
(Aberdeenshire)
Community Facilities (75%)
Cultural activities (67%)
Volunteering (79%)
Tourism (48%)
Environment (49%)
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What did LEADER evaluations tell us?
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Capacity for Change Programme
C4C = Capacity for Change
EU LEADER funding (2011-2013)
What is the driving force of the C4C initiative?
• To build community capacity and enable less-resourced
communities to become empowered and resilient
Why should we work with less-resourced communities?
• Current LEADER approach might not be efficient
• Support goes to ‘capable’ communities
• Less-resourced communities miss out on potential support
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Process of C4C development
• Identification of communities that meet all inclusion criteria
• C4C publicity and community engagement activities
(Community meetings, face to face and one to one meetings, leaflets and notice boards
information)
•
Verification community readiness and willingness
• Supported community action (communities working with a project officer, financial
support to develop local projects)
• Selection of a project idea
• Project implementation and service co-production
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Testing C4C
• How effective is the overall C4C
intervention?
• What difference does C4C make to the
participating communities?
• What improvements could be made to
the C4C programme to make it more
effective?
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Stages of the study
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Initiation of
the research process
Exploring C4C
processes
Finalising the
study
• Development of
C4C hybrid
evaluation model
• Baseline data
collection
• Quantitative &
Qualitative info
• In-depth interviews
with C4C
stakeholders
• Interviews with
C4C project
manager
• Exploring How?
Why? and Who?
• Final data
collection
• Quantitative &
Qualitative info
• Longitudinal data
• Measuring change
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Model of resilience in the community scenario
Basis of Resilience
Individual Social
Resilience
Nature of Resilience
Community Social
Resilience
Resilience
Individual Economic
Resilience
Community Economic
Resilience
• Quantitatively measures resilience
• Qualitatively provides in-depth information
• Looks at different themes at different levels
– Social & Economic resilience
– Individual & Community resilience
• Enables the comparison of different levels of resilience
amongst different communities over time
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Methodology
• C4C model used in order to measure resilience
• Rural villages in Dumfries and Galloway
• Stage 1 involved conducting 178 face-to-face,
semi-structured interviews with community
members from seven villages
• Snowball sampling was used in order to identify
respondents
• Stage 2 involved over 30 in-depth interviews
• Stage 3 involved conducting 137 face-to-face
interviews
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What are the practical C4C results?
• 6 out of 7 villages invited to take part in the
programme accepted the invitation
• C4C communities identified diverse priorities and
different local needs including:
–
–
–
–
–
Community garden
Kitchen project
Heritage project
Community sculpture
Community path linking two villages
• 3 out of 6 villages successfully completed the project
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Key statistical results
1. C4C successfully completed projects
–
The overall level of resilience increased
(change statistically significant)
2. C4C villages that did not successfully
complete their projects
–
The overall level of resilience decreased
(change is not statistically significant)
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Stages of community empowerment
C4C project manager
C4C project manager
C4C communities
C4C communities
Engagement
• Funding source as a platform for
community engagement
• Supported community action and
work of a project manager
Participation
• Being part of a region programme as
a trigger of community participation
• Development of social capital
through community involvement
Empowerment
• Development of new and
appreciation of existing resources
• Knock-on effect and added value
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C4C findings
• Working with communities that do not engage has
proven positive results but without sensitivity and a skilled
approach to community development it can do harm (e.g.
fractured community relationships) and projects can fail.
• Unsuccessful community projects decrease the level of
community resilience – hence the way that they are
designed and implemented is crucial.
• In order to empower communities
that do not engage the following
stages are necessary:
– Engagement
– Participation
– Empowerment
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Looking to 2014- 2020: SRDP Consultation
“need for changes to
reduce risk”
“a local delivery
method dominated by
processes”
“LEADER being widely regarded
as a rural communities grant
scheme”
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What’s new for 2014 – 2020?
EAFRD
ERDF
Integrated
LDS
EMFF
ESF
1. The integration / coverage of
rural, urban and costal territories
by single Local Development
Strategies
2. Overcoming the demarcation of
funds (of the current period) through
allowing the funding of CLLD
through multiple funds
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Strategic context 2014-2020
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Learning lessons for 2014-2020?
How will SG
support and
incentivise
cooperation
between LAGs?
What are the
incentives for
mobilising local
actors?
How will the
LDS be given
‘teeth’?
Will clarity on
eligibility reduce
the
admin/finance
burden?
How will the emphasis on
‘local coherence’ be
implemented?
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National context – Scottish Government
• 10% of LAG budgets ring-fenced for cooperation
projects
• Investment in new IT system to help overcome
application and finance issues
• Enhanced role for (National) Scottish Rural
Network to support cooperation projects, innovation
and knowledge exchange
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Local context – Ayrshire
• Local Development Strategy guided by five
themes with attached budgets – will help to
address the ‘ad hoc’ funding issue
• LDS to be evaluated via a logic model
included within the LDS - outcomes and
indicators clear from the start, LDS to have
teeth & quality baseline and end-point data
• Emphasis on economic development
reflected in LDS themes and in LAG
recruitment of private sector interests
• BUT questions remain, e.g.:
• coherence with other funds
• volunteer time required (e.g. to
mobilise & animate)
• EU audit requirements & finance
• Eligibility (e.g. skills)
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Thank you for your attention
Ellie Brodie: [email protected]
Artur Steiner: [email protected]
Recent C4C publications:
Steiner, A. and Markantoni, M. (2014) Exploring Community Resilience in
Scotland through Capacity for Change. Community Development Journal,
49(3), pp. 407-425.
Steiner, A. (2014) Building community resilience and empowering communities
that ‘do not engage’, Rural Policy Centre research briefing.
Skerratt, S. and Steiner, A. (2013) Working with communities-of-place:
complexities of empowerment. Local Economy, 28(3), pp. 320–338.