To address the challenges in rural areas the support for rural development with participatory approaches has a long tradition in EU funding programmes. One corresponding instrument is LEADER, which is a place-based, participatory approach to bring together public, private and civil society...

One well established instrument of regional development policy for rural areas is the LEADER-approach, which was started more than 25 years ago. Whereby the representation is often discussed, in evaluations/research projects the participants themselves are less often asked than LAG-managers /...

New governance structures, meant to empower local decision makers, are supported by some policies introduced by the European Commission. LEADER, from rural development policy, is among these approaches. Nevertheless, these new policies are implemented in very different multi-level governance...

The challenges for the quality of life in rural areas in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, connected with structural economic and demographic changes, raise the question of how to find appropriate policy interventions in the specific situation of transitions countries. One approach to bring forward rural...

One approach to support a smart rural development is LEADER, which is funded by the European agricultural fund. A general assumption about LEADER-approach is that the implementation of the LEADER-principles (like participation, cooperation, bottom up-orientation) creates an added value because...

The current immigration of refugees leads to a discussion about links between rural development and migration. Some rural regions in Germany formulate the hope that they can benefit from refugee immigration. In these areas, the impacts of aging and population decline with labour and skills...