IMPLEMENTATION EVALUATION OF STRATEGIES OF LOCAL ACTION GROUPS IN LATVIA

Abstract

The present research on local action groups (LAGs) in Latvia was performed within the measure “Analysis of LAG Activity and the Restoration of the LEADER Manual” for the National Rural Network of the Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre Ltd. A local action group or partnership is an association of local organisations and rural residents that operates in a certain rural area with the number of population ranging from 5 to 65 thousand, represents interests of this territory, and takes care of rural development issues at the local level. The research aim is to evaluate the strategy introduced by LAGs for 2009-2013 and work out suggestions for its improvement. The local development strategy of LAGs is implemented in the form of projects, and it is possible to attract financial support from measures co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) for its implementation in the period 2009-2013. The monographic and descriptive methods as well as analysis and synthesis, the graphical method, documentary analysis, data grouping, and sociological methods were extensively employed in the present research. It is based on analysis results of LAG strategies, data of the Rural Support Service (RSS), summarised results of a questionnaire survey and interviews of LAG representatives, survey results of residents living in LAG territories, as well as other publicly available documents. After completing the present research, it was concluded that in Latvia, the majority of LAG project submitters who participate in implementing LAG strategies were associations, local governments and limited liability companies, farms, and others. The project submitters surveyed pointed to key problems that arise in developing a project according to a LAG strategy. They are: filling in economic data, tables; defining goals and structuring a strategy; understanding the following terms: strategy, action, activity etc.; lack of experience. The territorial distribution of LAG projects is not even and perfect, and the main reasons for this problem are: a decrease in the number of residents, the lack of active residents, a large distance from the territory to its centre, no information is available to residents, the reluctance of residents to take financial liabilities and responsibly after a project is implemented, no residents having innovative and good ideas live in a certain territory. Activities to be introduced to engage young people in implementing the strategy are mainly set in the LAG strategies, and special activities for implementing youth projects are outlined. Instead of mostly creating real jobs for young people, they are mainly engaged in voluntary work to clean up a recreational site, look after equipment, and engage others thinking the same way. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.6.1501