ROBERT HOFFMANN, NATALIA HOFFMANN QUAESTIONES GEOGRAPHICAE 37(2) • 2018 THE LEADER PROGRAMME AS AN IMPULSE FOR NEW PROJECTS IN RURAL AREAS ROBERT HOFFMANN1, NATALIA HOFFMANN2 1Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland 2Institute of Psychology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland Manuscript received: January 23, 2018 Revised version: February 26, 2018 HOFFMANN R., HOFFMANN N., 2018. The LEADER programme as an impulse for new projects in rural areas. Quaestiones Geographicae 37(2), Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Poznań, pp. 141–150. 5 figs. ABSTRACT: The article aims to present the stages of the LEADER programme and its influence on greater activity and integration of inhabitants by, e.g. extending the knowledge of tradition and national heritage and the actions intended for the integration of local communities. It is noticeable particularly in the implementation of the activities within Axis 4 of the 2007–2013 Rural Development Programme. Positive changes in rural areas are a result of building strong social and human capitals, which are important factors of local development. The skills and the ability for cooperation of a local community allows it to implement many projects. The investments made by beneficiaries of the LEADER pro- gramme improve the level of living and the quality of life in the countryside. The effect is an improvement in physical infrastructure and tourist attractiveness as a result of care for the rural landscape and cultural heritage. The implemen- tation of the LEADER programme is presented on the example of Wielkopolskie Voivodeship where the participation in actions for local communities is deeply ingrained. In order to show spatial differences in the activity of local entities under Local Action Groups in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship, classes were selected on the basis of funds received by local entities in the LAG areas. There are 36 Local Action Groups operating in Wielkopolska (of which 31 have seats in this region). KEY WORDS: Local Action Group (LAG), LEADER, Poland, Rural Development Programme (RDP) Correspoding author: Robert Hoffmann, Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, ul. B. Krygowskiego 10, 61-680 Poznań, Poland; e-mail: [email protected] Introduction of the 1970s rural areas developed mostly by ex- ternal factors perceived as impulses coming from The disproportion in the level of living be- urban centres. The main role of rural areas was tween the inhabitants of towns and the country- basically limited to food production for growing side was a result of the domination of industry agglomerations. As the result of low productivi- over other branches of the national economy; this ty and attractiveness of rural areas, the necessity period was called “an industrial era”. The domi- of its modernisation appeared (Ward et al. 2005). nation of the agricultural function was then often Ray (2001) states that according to a new model treated as an indicator of the economic backward- of development of rural areas, external resources ness of a community and area, which was an im- should be used to meet local needs and support pulse for modernising and development-orient- their potential. ed measures (Bukraba-Rylska 2011). At the end © 2018 Author(s) This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license doi: 10.2478/ quageo-2018-0014 ISSN 0137-477X, eISSN 2081-6383 142 ROBERT HOFFMANN, Natalia HOFFMANN A significant step in agricultural develop- Moreover, participation seems to be one of the ment was the introduction of the European most important factors for promoting, fostering Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). At and enhancing the development of rural areas first CAP helped to enhance the effectiveness of (Cohen, Uphoff 1980). production, while social questions and those of The goal of this article is to present stages of the natural environment were poorly managed the LEADER programme and how it stimulates (Furmankiewicz, Królikowska 2010). the activity and integration of inhabitants, e.g. by On analysis of the Irish agriculture and coun- popularising their traditions and cultural heritage tryside of the early 1990s, Seamus O’Reilly (1998) as well as by actions leading to the integration of came to the conclusion that it was impossible for local communities. This is especially visible in the the Common Agricultural Policy to stimulate a ru- case of measures taken under Axis 4 of the 2007– ral community for steady endogenous socio-eco- 2013 Rural Development Programme (RDP). nomic development, which was its drawback. To improve the social situation in the rural areas of the EU member states, the LEADER pro- Stages of the LEADER programme gramme has been worked out. The LEADER initi- ative, its name being an abbreviation of its French The LEADER programme was introduced in a name: Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de few stages. The first (LEADER I), treated as a pi- l’Economie Rurale, means relations among meas- lot one, was implemented in the years 1991–1994 ures taken for the economic development of the and allowed checking a new model of the devel- countryside, or cooperation among various enti- opment of rural areas, testing inter-sectoral coop- ties operating there for the development of the eration, and stimulating the activity of local com- countryside and its inhabitants. The LEADER munities. After the success of the programme, programme implements the button-up and terri- the European Commission decided to launch the torial approach to stimulate the development of second stage (LEADER II), implemented in the countryside. Cross-sectoral cooperation is essen- years 1994–1999. LEADER II already embraced tial for the program efficacy. That is why a part of 50% of rural areas of the EU members of that local communities and other local stakeholders, time. Its big advantage was greater involvement also public authorities participate in the imple- of local authorities. mentation of the LEADER programme (Sykała et The next stage was LEADER+, the program- al. 2015). An important element of the programme ming period being the years 2000–2006, and the is the possibility of setting up local action groups end, 2008. An important element of this edition (LAGs), which are partnerships representing was its popularisation in all EU rural areas and the three sectors: public, social and economic. the encouragement of local leaders to work out Partnerships are created in order to connect and their own development strategies. The goal was coordinate actions taken by entities so as to im- to activate the development potential of rural prove their results, but also in order to improve areas that would encourage people, e.g. to start social relationships. LAGs are the main and basic an economic activity and settle in the country- level of the LEADER programme (The LEADER side. In this perspective of the programme, the Approach…2006). The empirical studies conduct- European Commission did not allow the new ed by Lopolito et al. (2015) showed that LAGs in- members to enter it. However, the new states creased the competence of the network as well as that joined it in May 2004 were allowed to im- reduced the distance between particular actors. plement LEADER instruments in the years Local entities able to cooperate make the attain- 2004–2006. Of the ten new members, six decid- ment of current and future goals more probable ed on the pilot LEADER programme (the Czech (Smykowski 2011). Aside from three-sectoral col- Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and laboration, the LEADER programme is innova- Hungary). Support consisted in training, con- tive in its participation approach. This phenom- sultancy and the financing of the emerging local enon can be considered an important means of action groups and integrated strategies of the de- achieving goals of the programme or awakening velopment of rural areas (Iwańska et al. 2010). In the community’s consciousness (Burkey 1993). Poland those tasks were performed as part of two THE LEADER PROGRAMME AS AN IMPULSE FOR NEW PROJECTS IN RURAL AREAS 143 Programme. At first there were 338 LAGs partic- ipating in the programme, including 120 LAGs from the previous stage of the LEADER pro- gramme. The chief goal of this type of initiatives is financial support for innovative measures for rural development by decentralisation of the management of local resources, a fight with un- employment, and the activation of inhabitants, which results in the cooperation of the three sec- tors: public, private and social. Fig. 1 presents a model of the LEADER type of approach. Its great advantage is two-way com- munication: beneficiary-local action group, and Fig. 1. Model of the LEADER type of approach. local action group-government institutions and Source: based on Kamiński, Kwatera (2005) and Iwańska agencies. (2010). This information flow allows bottom-up ac- tions that are more efficient and justified than in LEADER+ schemes. The goal of Scheme I was to the traditional model where decisions are taken create LAGs (167 Local Action Groups were cre- at the central level and the flow of information is ated) and to work out an Integrated Strategy for unidirectional (Iwańska 2010). Rural Development; it cost 19.5 million zlotys. The EU states earmark various sums for the Scheme II involved the implementation of the LEADER programme. The state with the largest Integrated Strategy for Rural Development by outlays is Spain, which devotes for it 10% of the Local Action Groups, which cost 98.5 million zlo- financial means granted to programmes concern- tys and embraced 885 communes with an area of ing rural areas. Spain has participated enthusi- 125,000 km2, inhabited by some 7 million people. astically in all LEADER editions, introduced in All the EU countries participate in the next 45% of the Spanish territory and involving 13% editions of the LEADER programme, 2007–2013 of the population (Perez 2000).