LEADER development by the regional population
The national CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 as part of the European Common Agricultural Policy forms the basis for funding in rural areas and is an important element in creating attractive rural areas. LEADER plays a special and central role in the regional development in rural areas.
What is LEADER?
LEADER enables people in rural areas to develop their region together with joint projects. To this end, rural communities that want to network and work together join forces with regional stakeholders from a wide range of areas to form a so-called Local Action Group (LAG). Following the bottom-up approach, this group develops a local development strategy (LDS) for its region with the active involvement of the population at the beginning of an EU funding period. This involves working on four thematic areas, known as fields of action:
- Increase in added value
Video (in German only) of the LEADER region Sauwald Pramtal - Consolidation or sustainable development of natural resources and cultural heritage
Video (in German only) of the LEADER region Weinviertel Ost - Strengthening structures and functions that are important for the common good
Video(in German only) of the LEADER region Vöckla-Ager - Climate change mitigation and adaptation
Video (in German only) of the LEADER region Weinviertel Ost
The LDS defines fields of action and objectives of the region for the respective fields of action. Furthermore, the LDS serves as the basis for the selection of the projects that are then subsidised with funds from the CAP Strategic Plan with EU participation. This enables the people in the regions to actively shape their region.
LEADER in the CAP Strategic Plan 2023 - 2027
In this period, 83 (77 existing and 6 new) regions applied with an LDS, which received recognition after a two-stage application process and were able to start implementing the LDS from 1 July 2023.
In order to respond to current challenges, there are some innovations and new possibilities in this funding period. All funding is processed digitally via Agrarmarkt Austria's digital funding platform. This also makes it easier to use the new impact monitoring system with its indicators in order to clearly demonstrate the added value of LEADER.
Digitalisation is also used in the new possibility of promoting Smart Village projects via LEADER. In the Smart Village concept, small-scale communities use a participatory approach to find innovative, digital solutions to local challenges.
Another major challenge alongside digitalisation is climate change. For this reason, the new, fourth field of action “Climate change mitigation and adaptation” was created, which is used by 81 of the 83 regions. This is accompanied by increased coordination with regional players such as the KEM (Climate and Energy Model Regions) and the KLAR! Programme Regions in order to exploit synergies and expand the budget for implementing projects through the increased thematic consideration of other funding programmes, including interventions from the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027.
The opportunities for cooperation between urban and rural areas have been further expanded to enable many people to enjoy both urban and rural qualities in their place of residence. As part of a functional partnership, medium-sized towns with up to 110,000 inhabitants can now work together with an LAG, to the benefit of both partners. 100,000 euros in additional LEADER funding has been allocated to those LEADER regions that utilise this opportunity for cooperation. Six cities are taking this step as pioneers with LEADER regions in the period 23-27. These are shown in the map below.
The women's quota of one third in the project selection committee was adjusted to at least 40% men and 40% women in order to further promote gender equality.