Leader+ OBSERVATORY

Contact Point

European Commission

Good Practice database

56 Good Practice Examples soon available in an online database; more examples to follow later this year

Process of gathering was finalised in April 2006

Approval on a national level

This represents up to 5 examples per Member State (EU-15) at this first stage

Continuous process

EC publication on Leader+ Best Practices

Publication of Leader+ Best Practice examples in a printed publication on a yearly basis by the European Commission

First publication of this kind later in 2006; process has already started

21 Best Practice examples were selected out of the 56 ”Pilot Actions”/Good Practices by the Contact Point and the European Commission

The selection of a total of 21 Best Practices was based on both conceptual, thematical and geographical balance.

This selection was sent to the NNUs and confirmed by all.

As a final result it means that “bigger” MS are represented with 2 examples each, smaller MS with 1 example.

Leader+ OBSERVATORYSteering Committee Meeting28/29 June 2006

Cooperation projects – state of the playCooperation projects – state of the play

European Commission

Results by end May 2006

231 projects notified (less then in January, some double and preparatory projects eliminated)

Detailed information available for 108 of them (double of what was available in January)

What is the projects’ origin ?

The highest numbers of projects coming from:

Ireland (15,2% of projects)

Germany (13,9%) Italy (12,6%) UK (11,7%)

Some new projects notified for Belgium, Spain, Finland, Italy.

*concerns projects where a national LAG is a Lead partner

3532

2927

2521

181610

933

21

0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

IrelandGermany

ItalyUK

F inlandSpain

FranceAustriaSweden

P ortugalDenmark

NLBelgium

LUXGreece

Num ber of TCP approved per MS *

LAGs’ involvement in the leadership

The most active LAGs remain the same:Ireland, Sweden, Finland

68%

58%56%

26%25%21%

17%17%16%16%11%11%10%10%

0%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Share of national LAGs

Irlande

Suède

Finlande

UK

Luxembourg

Autriche

Danm

ark

Portugal

Allem

agne

Italie

France

Pays B

as

Espagne

Belgique

Grèce

Member state

Share of national LAGs involved in TNP as a Lead partner

Who are the partners?

At least 369 LAGs are involved in the cooperation, on average 4 per project

Approximately 15% of them are not LAGs L+LAGs financed under previous Leader programmesPartnerships financed under national programmes

(PRODER, POMO)

Other bodies involved in the cooperation:Tourism and development agencies, associations

(environmental, educational, heritage), local and regional authorities, universities and research institutes.

Where do the partners come from?

All EU-15 MS New Member states: Estonia, Hungary, Slovenia,

Latvia, Malta Accession country: RomaniaMacedonia, Switzerland, Russia, Georgia,

Azerbajdjan, Tunisia, Canada, Brasil, Mozambic

In which fields do they cooperate?

Predominant theme: best use of natural and cultural resources

Two themes chosen by a quarter of projects each: quality of life, use of new know-how and new technologies

Local products – least popular

Themes chosen

25%

26%34%

15% Use of new know how and newtechnologies

Im proving the quality of life in ruralareas

Bes t use of natural and culturalresources

Adding value to local products

Which intervention fields ?

Best use of natural and cultural resources:Nature and environment (waste management,

protection, biodiversity, technology)Culture and education (training, raising awarness,

religion, art, museums, history)Tourism (tourism concept, booking structures,

eco-tourism, tourism trails)

Which intervention fields ?

Using new know-how and new technologiesMarketing and promotion (tourism products, local

products, natural and cultural sites) through common web sites and booking structures

Professional training

Which intervention fields ?

Improving the quality of lifeCulture and education (languages, links with new

inhabitants, events)Training (professional and life-long training aimed

at SME, focused on local resources)Raising awareness on subjects linked with

environment protection / nature (sustainable tourism)

Which intervention fields ?

Adding value to local productsEconomy (cooperation between SME / producers)Marketing (e-commerce)Food quality and brand developmentCraftsTourism

Cooperation with NMS

6 NMS implement the Leader+ measure Only Czech Republic, Hungary and Lithuania have

selected their LAGs under the sub-measure « Implementation of development strategies »

CzR: transnational cooperation limited to the activities carried out on the national territory

Hungary: transnational cooperation possible if foreseen in the development strategy

Lithuania: no transnational cooperation financed

Cooperation with NMS - challenges

LAG selection procedures have not been terminated yet in 3 MS, 3 other NMS do not provide financial support for cooperation at all

Very short time for implementation of projects Low budget assigned per LAG (ranges from EUR

47 000 in Lithuania to almost EUR 400 000 in Hungary)

Little previous experience Assistance structures under development

Follow-up

Some countries are still in the process of completing the information (half of project templates are not filled in)

The translation into English of the projects

Please inform us about each new project approved!

Leader+ OBSERVATORYSteering Committee Meeting28/29 June 2006

EVENTS

European Commission

Events 2005-2006

Retrospective: what has happened eventwise: Leader+ Observatory Seminar

« New Know-how and new technologies in rural areas» 6-10 April in Kauhajoki, Finland

Leader+ Observatory Conference: « European Cooperation Fair » 28 – 29 June 2005 in Brussels/Belgium

Leader+ Observatory Seminar « Adding value to local products »14 – 18 February in Grosseto, Italy

Schruns/Austria, 25 – 29 AprilLeader+ Observatory Seminar « Making best use of natural and cultural resources »

Seminar in Austria: Making the best use of natural and cultural resources

A pie chart to show the distribution of nationalities at the Leader+ decentralised seminar on the best use of natural and cultural resources

14%

14%

1%

3%

2%

5%

5%

5%2%5%

5%2%

1%

1%

6%

8%

1%

1%4%

12%

5%

Austria

Belgium

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

UK

Seminar in Austria: Making the best use of natural and cultural resources

Yes100,00%

No0,00%

Yes

No

Has the participation been worthwhile for you?

0,00% 0,00% 0,00%0,00%

5,56%

0,00%

5,56%

63,89%

11,11%

13,89%1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

How do you rate the event as a whole?

Retrospective of all past seminars from 2005 until now

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Coop Fair Finland Italy Austria

A histogram to show the distribution of nationalities over the last four Leader+ Observatory events

UK

Switzerland

Sweden

Spain

Slovenia

Slovakia

Serbia & Montenegro

Portugal

Poland

Netherlands

Malta

Luxembourg

Lithuania

Latvia

Italy

Ireland

Hungary

Greece

Germany

France

Finland

Estonia

Denmark

Czech Republic

Cyprus

Croatia

Belgium

Austria

Retrospective of all past seminars from 2005 until now

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Coop Fair Finland Italy Austria

A histogram to show the profile of the participants of the last four Leader+ Observatory events

Other LAGs

Other

National Network Units

New Member State Partnerhsips

Managing Authorities

Government / Ministries

EU Institutions

Contact Point

Leader+ LAGs

Future events

October 2006: possibly 18-20 October 2006 and in principle in

Budapest/Hungary (to be confirmed): Leader+ Observatory Seminar for and in the New Member States

State of play Questionnaire

Future events

Decentralised seminar in Portugalin March 2007 last decentralised seminar of the current

programme period transversal theme information will be available in September

LEADER+ STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING LEADER+ OBSERVATORY SEMINAR

28-29 JUNE 2006 IN BRUSSELS/BELGIUMEuropean Map

European Commission

EU LEADER+ MAP STATUS

STATUS OF GIS-DATA COLLECTION ON LEADER+ LAG AREAS IN JANUARY 2006

EU LEADER+ MAP STATUS

STATUS OF GIS-DATA RECEIVED FROM THE MEMBER STATES ON LEADER+ LAG AREAS IN JUNE 2006

EU LEADER+ MAP STATUS

SPATIAL DATA FROM THE FOLLOWING MEMBER STATES IS STILL MISSING:

FINLAND PORTUGAL SWEDEN DENMARK THE NETHERLANDS : No spatial data available

SPATIAL DATA FROM THE FOLLOWING MEMBER STATES IS INCOMPLETE:

UNITED KINGDOM: Data received from England, data missing from: Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.