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Spatial Initiatives Or Mobilized Pottential for Rural Development?

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Spatial Initiatives Or Mobilized Pottential for Rural Development? ISSN 1648-2603 (print) VIEŠOJI POLITIKA IR ADMINISTRAVIMAS ISSN 2029-2872 (online) PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION 2018, T. 17, Nr. 4 / 2018, Vol. 17, No 4, p. 510–525. Lithuanian local action groups: spatial initiatives or mobilized pottential for rural development? Rita Vilkė, Ligita Šarkutė Lietuvos agrarinės ekonomikos institutas V.Kudirkos g. 18-2, LT-03105, Vilnius DOI:10.13165/VPA-18-17-4-02 Abstract. The new paradigm of innovative, sustainable and inclusive rural deve- lopment calls for the search of new forms and approaches that might be applicable to explain the on-going transformations in the knowledge age. New rural policy stresses the focus on bottom-up approach, self-organization and cooperation between territorial government and local community. This highlights the need to align innovative approaches with available policy instruments to accelerate rural development. Currently rural deve- lopment initiators might vitalize their innovative ideas and mobilize followers by accessing the EU support scheme using LEADER programme through local action groups (LAGs). However, the geographical distribution and activeness of Lithuanian LAGs vary from re- gion to region in terms of activeness and absorption of EU support and there are reasons behind. This study aims to explain the role of local action groups in innovative bottom-up rural development from a new social movement theory approach. It is argued in the study that LAGs hold a potential to drive innovative rural development in a form of a new social movement, which might specifically emerge in particular field due to the idea proposed by particular local community actors and their ability to mobilize resources. Finally, this study proposes insights for scientific discussion regarding the possibility to explain the reasons of LAGs disparities in the absorption of EU support from a new social movement approach. Key words: rural development, new social movements, innovative initiatives, „bot- tom-up“ approach, local action groups (LAGs). Reikšminiai žodžiai: kaimo vystymas, naujieji socialiniai judėjimai, inovatyvios iniciatyvos, požiūris „iš apačios į viršų“, vietos veiklos grupės (VVG). Viešoji politika ir administravimas. 2018, T. 17, Nr. 4, p. 510–525. 511 Introduction The paradigm of innovative, sustainable and inclusive rural development starts changing post-industrial rural regions worldwide. Ongoing transformations in rural societies imply both scientific community and politicians to look for new qualitative dimensions that could explain relevant changes and be applicable when proposing directions and tools for appropriate political decisions in the field. Therefore, the new rural development paradigm becomes a broad field of scientific discussions (Little, 2001; Ife, 2013; Yang et al., 2015; Buller and Hoggart, 2017; Székely, 2018; Hoffmann and Hoffmann, 2018). Especially researchers stress the focus on political decisions using ‘bottom-up’ approach, emphasizing the importance of self-organization and government co-operation with the local rural population (Mohan and Stokke, 2000; Osborne, 2010). The ongoing discussions prompt to investigate the modern economic and social development of rural regions in accordance with active groups of actors, i.e. relevant stakeholders (Freeman, 2010). In rural regions these actors include economic entities (i.e., farmers, agricultural companies, food processing companies, farmers’ cooperatives) or local action groups (LAGs), rural communities and other non-gov- ernmental organizations. In this case a LAG is considered a “bottom-up” rural vital- ization scheme of an innovative idea, having a potential to become a driving force for particular rural region in a form of new social movement (NSM). The new model of the development of rural areas highlighted the necessity of using external resources to meet local needs and support potential of local initiators (Ray, 2001). Current rural policy in the European Union (EU) is oriented to support spatial innovative rural development ideas using “place-based” and “bottom-up” ap- proaches of EU Rural Development Programme, using “LEADER” (abbreviation from French: Liaisons Entre Actions de Development de l’Economie Rurale) method. This development initiative is implemented through LAGs, community-led local develop- ment initiatives established under the public-private partnerships model. Community- led local development approach, which is used in EU LEADER programme, turns traditional “top-down” development policy on its head (Guidance on Community-Led Local Development for Local Actors, 2014, 9 p.). „Top-down“ development means that local people take the initiative and form a local partnership that designs and imple- ments an integrated development strategy to enhance communities’ social, environ- mental and economic strengths than simply compensate for its problems. This long- term funding is providing for community opportunities to decide itself how it is spent. Thus, communities are acting as LAGs. Support schemes for the (re)development of rural areas using innovative ap- proaches and projects were launched in 1990. Funding received from the European Commission for innovative rural development initiatives through LAGs using LEADER method is rewarded by 5 percent of overall EU rural development pro- gramme expenditure (the European Commission, 2018). Rita Vilkė, Ligita Šarkutė. Lithuanian local action groups: spatial 512 initiatives or mobilized pottential for rural development? It should be stated here that support for LAGs gradually increased from the very beginning of LEADER. At the experimental phase LEADER I (1991-1993) supported 217 LAGS with EU funding of 1.2 billion euro total public budget. The following LEADER period 1994-2006 was organized as Stand-alone LEADER programmes. LEADER II (1994-1999) focused on disadvantaged rural areas and supported 906 LAGs in 2017 regions by 5.4 billion euros total public budget. LEADER+ (2000-2006) initiatives covered all types of rural areas and supported 1 153 LAGs with EU funding of 5.1 billion euros total public budget. In later period LEADER was mainstreamed as an integral part of EU’s rural development policy and supported 2 416 LAGs with funding of 8.9 billion euro total public budget (LEADER 2007-2013 implementa- tion update, 2015). In the period of 2014-2020 LEADER was extended into a broader Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) conception and added three more funds to utilise for bottom-up initiatives: the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund (the European Commission, 2018). The ongoing programming period had entered its midway and collected data start giving evidence for on-going innovative bottom-up transforma- tions of rural regions. However, recent scientific discussions stress that amounts of absorbed EU support for starting various bottom-up initiatives, devoted to accelerate rural development, vary among different LAG actors in any EU country, and there are specific reasons behind (e.g. Hoffmann and Hoffmann, 2018; Székely, 2018, etc.). The overall aim of this paper is to explain the role of LAGs in innovative bot- tom-up rural development from the new social movement (NSM) theory approach. Presumably NSM might specifically emerge in particular field due to the bottom-up idea proposed by particular local community actors and their ability to mobilize re- sources and interest from the locals. It is argued in the study that all LAGs have the same conditions to access financial resources to drive innovative rural development in a form of NSM using EU support instruments. However, potential for using this instrument is mobilized with evident disparities among LAGs. This study takes into account the 2014-2020 programming period of EU Rural Development Programme and explores LAGs’ disparities in Lithuania. Finally, this study gives insights for scientific discussion regarding the possibility to explain LAGs disparities in activeness and absorption of EU support using one of NSM corner- stones – resource mobilization theory. The background for this study arrives from positivist methodology approach. Scientific literature review and modelling methods suggested employing quantitative empirical study to be performed in finding actual evidence for solutions of defined scientific problem. Analysis of scientific literature and documents, secondary analysis of data, collected by the National Paying Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania, and descriptive statistics was done using publicly available databases of LEADER method implementation in Lithuania in 2014-2020 program- ming period. Viešoji politika ir administravimas. 2018, T. 17, Nr. 4, p. 510–525. 513 New social movements and the changing rural development paradigm The new rural development paradigm had been affected by numerous changes which happen in modern world. Particular attention in scientific discussions is de- voted to the new social movements (NSMs) and its vibrant power in quickly mobiliz- ing power and resources to make social change (Roggeband and Klandermans, 2017; Waddock, 2017, etc.). NSM roots arrive from so-called old or classical social move- ments in a form of protests from the 18th century (Crozat et al, 1997; Laraña et al., 2009; Tilly and Wood, 2013; Castells, 2015; Lofland, 2017). At the very beginning social movements were understood as a collective action of similarly minded people against existing arrangements of power and institutions as well as
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