LEADER and Community-Led Local Development Approach. Polish Experiences
The publication presents an overview of the implementation of the LEADER approach and Community-Led Local Development in Poland. The authors discusses the theoretical background of the transformation of rural areas development policy, and presents the essence and the key characteristics of the LEADER approach, its origin, and different models of its implementation in European countries. They also concentrate on the participation principle, perceived as a one of the most important principles of territorial development and evaluate the previous activity of selected local action groups formed in Poland in the context of implementing the innovation principle. In this publication readers can also find discussion related to the implementation of Community-Led Local Development approach in Poland, based on the experiences of the LEADER approach. The authors hope that the publication will attract the interests of foreign readers (also non-academic readers) who are interested in the experiences of implementing the LEADER approach in Poland, and thus in the determinants of implementing Community-Led Local Development, not only in rural areas. ; The LEADER approach implemented in rural areas of the European Union since 1991 has for many years unchangeably been the subject of interest of many researchers such as sociologists, political scientists, geographers, and economists. Extensive source literature points to its advantages but also to its weak sides and drawbacks. The formation and functioning of local action groups illustrates the complex relations between the main social actors responsible for the development of contemporary rural and – since the beginning of implementation of Community-Led Local Development – also urban areas. Due to specificity and size of the country, Poland seems to be especially legitimate to analyze the LEADER approach and Community-Led Local Development. This publication analyzes these issues from the perspective of researchers from three scientific centers (the University of Łódź, the University of Rzeszów, and the Urban Development Institute (IRM) in Kraków, representing different scientific areas: sociology, political science, and geography.