LEADER is participatory regional development in the service of rural citizens, communities, associations and companies who want to strengthen their homeland and make it more livable.
LEADER stands for Liaisons Entre Actions de Développement de l‘Economie Rurale and is a European-funded initiative. The Local Action Group (LAG) is a public-private partnership and acts as an interface between the numerous local stakeholders to implement the LEADER approach.
LEADER is financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development – and in Luxembourg additionally by funds from the Ministry of Agriculture and the municipalities being members of the five LEADER regions.
The LEADER approach helps to connect local actors, creating new friendships and synergies that lead to a motivated and active implementation of shared ideas. The results of these ideas stimulate the local economy and culture, create jobs and offer new perspectives for rural communities.
This process promotes dynamism among local actors: new friendships and synergies are created, which lead to motivated and active implementation of shared ideas. These stimulate the economy and culture, create jobs and offer new perspectives for rural communities.
Innovative ideas become reality! Projects that emerge are so inspiring that they encourage other regions and countries to imitate them or to join in.
In the 1990s, the EU Commission launched the LEADER initiative to support rural regions in Europe. In Luxembourg, the potential of LEADER was recognised early on and in 1991 the first LEADER region was launched in the north of the country. Since then, more regions have emerged. Until today and for more than 30 years, LEADER is providing support people who are working to the development their regions.
LEADER has become an important part of regional and national rural development policy and has enabled the implementation of over 580 innovative projects to date. The Grand Duchy currently has five LEADER regions.
Local Action Groups (LAGs) decide which projects are to be realised in the LEADER regions. LAGs consist of people from different backgrounds: for example, representatives from municipalities, associations, business, or the cultural and social sectors. The LAG independently determines the process that project applications must go through and decides on behalf of the local population which projects shall receive funding. The local development strategy with clearly defined objectives and fields of intervention provides orientation in this regard.
In Luxembourg's LEADER regions, a LEADER bureau staffed by two people supports the further development of the regions. The bureau advises stakeholders on project ideas from the first ideas to the project realisation and provides information on funding opportunities. It also supports cooperation between local communities and initiates partnerships with other regions.
Together with the local stakeholders, each region develops a customised local development strategy. This strategy identifies the region’s strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and risks in detail that help to define objectives and fields of intervention. It sets out a path for the development of the region and frames the project selection during the programming period 2023-2029.
Then get in touch with your regional LEADER bureau !
The bureau will assist you in developing the project idea, accompany and support you during the selection procedure and project realisation and provide you with advice and assistance. The journey of a project from its beginning to successful realisation is summarised in the short explanatory video.
We look forward to hearing from you!
The cooperative spirit of LEADER does not stop at Luxembourg's borders. In the programming period from 2023 to 2029, there are more than 2,600 LEADER regions across Europe. The exchange of experiences with other LEADER regions in Europe helps to transfer innovative approaches and ideas to Luxembourg and to share the experiences of successful projects. Contacts and networks are created between stakeholders who work together to shape the future of Europe's rural regions. For this reason, special attention is given in Luxembourg to cooperation projects that are implemented together with partners from abroad.
Cover photo: © Liz Hacken