The Leader approach under the Rural Development Programme
LEADER is a European Community Initiative for assisting rural communities in improving the quality of life and economic prosperity in their local area. The Leader approach, also known as Axis 4, is not a separate fund or set of objectives. Instead, it is a delivery mechanism through which money allocated to the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 can be spent. This approach replaces the LEADER+ Programme, a European Community Initiative that ran from 2000-2006.
The Leader approach is designed to enable 'bottom-up' community involvement in rural development. It will encourage new and experimental approaches to rural development and support will be aimed primarily at small-scale, community driven projects that are pilot and innovative in nature.
The aim of the Leader approach is to increase the capacity of local rural community and business networks to build knowledge and skills, innovate and co-operate in order to tackle local development objectives.
Leader will be implemented through Local Action Groups (LAGs), which represent the local community.
