Rural Development experiences in Germany: opportunities and obstacles in fostering smart places through LEADER

Sustainable rural development: The role of traditional activities in Central Italy

“…As stated by the Rural Development Programmes, planning processes should be conceived as 'integrated development strategies', aiming at a territorial development that takes into account the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of a region (Pollermann et al, 2013;Terluin, 2003).…”

The impact of knowledge management, learning and socio-cultural factors on innovation

“…And indeed, the vast majority of LAGs reported that they had a high degree of autonomy in defining their territory's delineations (ENRD 2012, p.10). In Germany for instance most LAG managers classified their territory as adequately defined even though a huge variety in population and shaping could be observed (Pollermann K. et al 2013). Also in Austria in the 2007-2013-period almost all managers were quite happy with the design of their territories (Dax T. et al 2011).…”

Rural innovation activities as a means for changing development perspectives An assessment of more than two decades of promoting LEADER initiatives across the European Union

“…Case-specifi c assessment studies in Austria (Dax et al, 2016), for other countries (Papadopoulou et al, 2011;Pollermann et al, 2013;Le Roy and Vollet, 2013;Navarro et al, 2015) and more general EU-wide assessment (RuDI, 2010) suggest limited policy effects resulting from programme changes related to LEADER mainstreaming. These are due to the weak strategic support for integrating LEADER into the RDPs.…”

“…preparation conferences for the current programme period), stock-taking exercises (Lukesch and Schuh, 2007) and comparative working groups for LEADER preparation and implementation support (e.g. European Network for Rural Development working groups and discussions at national level) point to the extension of evaluation considerations -from primarily quantitative to mixed approaches, where qualitative and participative tools are integrated increasingly (Pollermann et al, 2013). This refl ects a stronger focus on communicating evaluation potential and the need for a stronger involvement of local actors in the evaluation process.…”