Abstract
The present research which originates from the author’s PhD dissertation awarded at the School of Politics of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 2019, explores the comparative evolution of rural development policies and Local Action Groups (LAGs) in the United Kingdom (Argyll and the Islands LAG—Scotland and Coast, Wolds, Wetlands and Waterways LAG—England) and in Italy (Delta 2000 LAG—Emilia-Romagna Region and Capo Santa Maria di Leuca LAG—Puglia Region) in a multi-level governance framework. LAGs and in particular their public–private local partnerships have become common practice in the governance of rural areas. This governance operates within the European Union LEADER approach as a tool designed to generate the development of rural areas at local level. In order to establish the implications of the LAG practices, the following main objectives for this research have been established: (1) to explore the utility of EU strategies for rural development; (2) to explain how LAGs structure, institutional arrangements and working are positioned in the layers of MLG framework; (3) to carry out a comparative evaluation of the LAGs working in the different nations and their subnational contexts. Some significant findings from the case studies are summarized in relation to these themes: the key characteristics and the outcomes associated with the LAG working mechanisms and what do we draw about the emergence, operation and performance of local partnerships. The core argument of the research is that the partnership approach has given the rural development actors a governance platform to help increase beneficial interactions and economic activity in each of these LAGs, but it is the bottom-up leadership of key local actors, seizing opportunities provided by the EU funding, which have been the most important factors for the LAG successes.
Highlights
Since the late 1990s, the importance of promoting integrated rural development in Europe, with a strong emphasis on local solutions for local problems, has been widely acknowledged
The present research, using the Multi-Level Governance framework (MLG), conducts a comparative analysis of the experience of four EU LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs)/public private partnerships operating in the UK
In order to establish the implications of the LAG practices for rural development through a case study approach, the following main objectives for this research were established: (1) to explore the utility of EU strategies for rural development; (2) to explain how the LAG structure and the institutional arrangements are positioned in the layers of Multi-Level Governance framework when managing rural development; (3) to carry out a comparative evaluation of the LAGs working in the different nations and their subnational contexts
Summary
Since the late 1990s, the importance of promoting integrated rural development in Europe, with a strong emphasis on local solutions for local problems, has been widely acknowledged. The impetus for working in partnership has been given at European Union and national level as a participative approach to create and implement local development strategies to which financial resources are allocated [1] Through this governance framework centered around the local partnership process, the rural development issues (such as the agricultural industry, economic diversity, land-use practices and social inclusion) are considered in a more effective manner when compared to that offered through the coordination of direct government [2]. It highlights the increasing importance of a bottom-up development approach and allows us to explore governance issues of how this process can benefit both the policy making and the rural development outcomes It draws on the experience of four public private partnerships in order to understand the conditions, including political arrangements and actors, that facilitate or hinder their development and their workings, and it evaluates the added value that flows from the bottom-up approach to local development process of the areas they serve compared to the more conventional way. Given the limited knowledge about local partnerships working in rural development and the characteristics of local partnership practice and capability to deliver rural development, this research has the aim to fill this gap through a comparative analysis, providing a detailed exploratory study focusing on the longitudinal observation of case studies
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