The Cooperation measure within LEADER approach in the Rural Development Programmes

1. INTERACT pilotactivity on Cooperation in Objectives 1 and 2 The Cooperation measure within LEADER approach in the Rural Development Programmes Second event, Bergen June 14 2011 Giuseppe Gargano Rete Rurale Nazionale – INEA, Italy

2. 2007 – 2013 EU RURAL DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES To increase the competitiveness of the agricultural and forest field, promoting its restructure To value the environment and the natural space, by supporting the management of the territory. To improve the quality of life in the rural zones and to promote the diversification of the economic activities.

3. Axis I: Improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector Axis III: The quality of life in rural areas and diversification of the rural economy Axis II: Improving the environment and the countryside Axis IV - LEADER approach (methodological axis): Local development integrated strategies of the territory

4. AXIS IV: the LEADER approach LEADER (LiaisonsEntreActions de Développement de l’Economie Rurale - Links Among Actions of Development of the Rural Economy) is an approach directed to promote the integrated, endogenous and sustainable development of the rural areas. • It was introduced as a ‘Community Initiative’ financed under the EU Structural Funds. Since 2007, the Leader approach has been integrated (‘mainstreamed’) within overall EU rural development policy. • Bottom up approach for the elaboration and the performance of Local Development Strategies (LDSs) and constructed to one or more priority topics aimed to well defined rural territories at sub-regional level, homogenous and that present critical mass in terms of human, financial and economic resources, to support the strategy of local development.

5. The Local Action Groups (LAGs) are the subjects that promote, elaborate the LDSs and manage the financial contributions given by the European Commission. The constitution of a LAG is based on the private creation of partnership which must be the balanced and representative expression of the public and private operators and, of several social economic environmental of the territory. • Management of cooperation projects at interterritorial and transnational level: it involves a LAG undertaking a joint project whit another Leader group or another group with a similar approach. • Creation of networks among the local partnership includes the exchange of achievements, experiences and know-how between Leader groups, rural areas, administrations and organisations to help overcome the isolation faced by some rural regions.

6. Delivery system measures for the Leader Axis(Art. 63 Regulation 1698/2005) • Implementing local development strategies to achieve the objective of one or more of the 3 Axis (Measures 411, 412, 413). • Interterritorial and transnational Cooperation (Measure 421). • Running the local action group, acquisition of skills and animating the territory (Measure 431).

7. The Cooperationmeasure • It is funded under Axis 4 (Leader) of the EAFRD (Art.65 of of Regulation 1698/2005) through the national or regional rural development programmes from 2007-13. • The cooperation measure is one of the three LEADER Axis measure. • Cooperation encourages and supports a LAGs to undertake a joint action with another Leader group, or with a group taking a similar approach, in another region, Member State, or even a third country. • Cooperationprojectscanbealreadyintegrated in the Local DevelopmentStrategy • If not integrated in the Local Strategy, thendecisionmechanism as for otherprojects or ManagingAuthoritycreates a specialprocedure.

8. Therearetwo different typologiesofcooperation: • Interterritorial cooperation: within a Member State, it concerns at least one area selected under Leader Axis. • Trans-national cooperation: • within the European Union: it covers at least two rural areas from at least two Member States among which at least one LAG is selected under the Leader Axis. • it is possible to extend this cooperation to groups in third countries following a similar approach. • The partnership may also be open to other local public private partnerships according to Article 62 1.(b of the Regulation (EC) n°1698/2005 or other rural groups organised along the lines of Leader and recognised by the Member State. • The expenditure involved relating to the Leader area becomes eligible (e.g. participation by the Leader local action group in partnership meetings, local application in its area of the joint project). In other words, expenditure "relating to" the Leader area does not mean necessarily "in the area“. Expenditures in the area of the non-member country and not related to the Leader area are not eligible.

9. The objectives of the cooperation To value the complementarities: geographic advantages, complementary know-hows, subdivision of the work among partners based on the respective specializations To search critical masses: to realize economies of scale, to propose a combined offer of products, to support the costs for the introduction of a new technology To value the analogies: geographic characteristic, cultural patrimony, innovation technology

10. The effects Opening of the territories on the external world and a cultural enrichment Birth of a culture clearly centralized on the cooperation and the partnership Dissemination outside the Local Action Group toward other operators of their territory (enterprises, associations) Learning based on the experience which will let opertors to avoid numerous difficulties within their respective future plans.

11. The successive phases to implement a cooperation project • Pre-developmentactions: these actions precede the cooperation project to facilitate the search of potential partners and support the elaboration of a common action (preparatory technical support) having in mind that this kind of actions could not necessarily result in a concrete joint action for different reasons. • Elaboration and implementation of a joint action: it may cover a whole range of activities eligible under the Axis/es implemented through the Leader method focused on capacity building, transfer of experience on localdevelopment through e.g. common publications, training seminars, twinning arrangements (exchange of programme managers and staff) leading to the adoption of common methodological and working methodsor to the elaboration of a joint or coordinated development work.

12. The preparatory technical support • Pre development actions can be funded both at program level via technical assistance or via the measure cooperation; hence many programmes included this type of specific assistance for cooperation in its planning phase to facilitate the search for and contacting of partners and provide technical support for compiling the dossier. as a support system available for the whole programming period. • In principle, this technical support precedes the cooperation project (upstream expenditure) and may not finance expenditure on the holding of partnership meetings once the partnership has been finally established on the basis of an agreement. • To facilitate the starting of cooperation work it is recommended to have a specific separate procedure distinct from the project selection procedure; the preparatory technical support is either implemented via an administrative selection procedure (the grant is delivered to the selected local action groups following a file submission) or via a local selection procedure by the local action groups using a part of the budget allocated to implement its local development strategy.

13. In the first implementation model to facilitate the process it is suggested to allow submission at any time when an application is complete. • Member States might adopt a grant upper limit for preparatory technical support as a maximum percentage of the total project cost. • Project development expenses relating to: • the search for partners including travel, local transport, board and accommodation, mission allowance, study visits and associated activities; • feasibility studies, research, specific consultancies and associated activities; • information communication, including interpreter and translation costs, awareness activities, information research on the territories and associated activities; • the organisation of meetings including the hire of premises, equipment, catering, translation services and interpreters; • general expenses relating to the organisation and coordination of planning and pre-development activities.

14. Elaboration and implementation of a joint action • A joint action: it may cover a whole range of activities eligible under the Axis/es implemented through the Leader method focused on capacity building, transfer of experience on localdevelopment through e.g. common publications, training seminars, twinning arrangements (exchange of programme managers and staff) leading to the adoption of common methodological and working methodsor to the elaboration of a joint or coordinated development work. • A common structure: running a common structure is the most “integrated” form of cooperation. A shared new structure could be any body using a legal form recognised in the Member State(s) concerned. In the case of transnational cooperation, it may be an EEIG (European Economic Interest Grouping). • Actions at local level (included in one of the 3 Axes) that fall under the single measures of the RDP can be realized for the fulfilment of the common objective of the project.

15. Project implementation expenses relating to: • cooperation staff; • the coordination of partner meetings including travel costs, board and accommodation, local transport, hire of premises and equipment; • interpreter and translation costs; • studies and researches, specific consultancies and associated activities; • implementation of information and communication; • material costs in ordertocommon action; • general costs (direct and indirect) relating to the organisation and implementation of planning activities including costs for administration and secretarial activities, monitoring, purchase of telephone and computer services, for utility bills, hire of premises etc; • expenses sustained by the LAG or by the lead partner for coordination activities, monitoring and evaluation of the project • the constitution and current management of a potential common structure

16. Finally: • only expenditure for the joint action and for running any common structures will be eligible. Expenditure on animation may be eligible in all the areas concernedby the cooperation. • apart from operations corresponding to a very precise theme the implementation of which requires a larger area than that of the LAGs concerned, only operations concerning the territories selected under Leader axis will be eligible under the measure “cooperation”. However, expenditure on cooperation coordination becomes eligible for all the areas involved. • for expenses related to the implementation of the operations that fall under the single measures of the RDP, see the admissible types of expenses indicated in the relevant table of measures.

17. The role of the Lead partner • Eachcooperation project isimplemented under the supervision and coordination of a lead partner designated by agreement among the groups involved in the project on the basis of a cooperation agreement: • steering and coordination of the design of the project including preparation of the cooperation agreement; • financial coordination of the project: collection of information on the applications for financing presented by each partner (this information is then available to each group and the regional or national authorities concerned); • steering and coordination of implementation of the project and the tasks which are the responsibility of each partner to ensure correct implementation for the joint project; • promotion and monitoring of the cooperation project (financial progress in terms of expenditure incurred and revenue secured, organization of exchanges between partners, preparation of records of implementation ) • checking compliance with the commitments made by each partner for the correct implementation of the joint project.

18. The role of each partner • Tasks and expenditure should be shared among partners so that each partner must take part in project activities: • each partner is responsible for its own commitments vis-à-vis other groups and the lead group on the basis of a cooperation agreement; • it has administrative and financial responsibility for the operations which it heads. • it is therefore responsible for drawing up the forecast financing plan and for negotiations with those providing partfinancing. • It is responsible for keeping and making available to the regional or national authorities all the accounting documents supporting expenditure incurred and the nature of public part-financing.

19. The usefulness of an Application form • The use of application form is useful for the implementation of Leader monitoring system. It is composed by two distinguished and complementarysections: • Project form divided into: • Section I – Global project • Section II – Local project • Annexes: • Cooperation agreement • Financing application • Declaration of the absence of overlapping with other cooperation projects • Curriculum of the Lead partner • Curriculum of the “No Leader partner”. .

20. The main information requested in the Application form • Project form: • Lead partner and partners information data; • Description of cooperation project (background, continuance, complementarities and integration with other projects, overall and operational objective, pre-development activities, activities, project indicators); • Method and procedures of project implementation (legal and management form and modality of implementation); • Management activities (work planning, modalities to accomplish management and organizational commitments); • Financial aspects (financial plan, annual financial planning, sustainability of the activities. • Curriculum of the Lead partner and of the “No Leader partner”: • Competences and experiences in the management of LDPs; • Experience in the theme of the project. .

21. The usefulness of a Cooperation Agreement • It is a common document in a legal form recognised in one of the participant countries and signed by all the partners and should clearly contain: • a written undertaking by the partners with the names and addresses of the Lead partner and the partners; • a detailed description of the cooperation project indicating; • overall and operational objective, activities, project indicators; • method and procedures of project implementation (modality of implementation); • management activities (work planning, modalities to accomplish management and organizational commitments); • an overall planned budget and the financial participation of each partner; • an indicative timetable; • the applicable law and the competent courts in the event of a dispute between the parties; • a clause permitting new LAGs/groups to be included. • a procedure permitting the agreement to be amended. .

22. The various ways of selecting “cooperation” projects • Selection by local action groups: • Cooperation action is integrated in the local development strategy • The Local Action Groups secure, when the local development strategies are selected, pre-allocated appropriations from the measure Cooperation which should enable them to finance cooperation projects. • Selection by Managing Authorities: • The Managing Authority shall at fixed dates call for proposal or select projects by submission at any time by 31 December 2013 at the latest. These applications are drawn up in the appropriate form for each programme.

23. The Main selection criteria proposed 1. Quality of the partnership: Status of the partnership constitution (Partner search, presence of letter of intent, signed partnership agreement); Experience of the partnership in the topic of the project. 2. Quality of the project: Quality of the project proposal (clearly expressed overall objective, specific objective, actions, indicators, continuance, complementarities and integration with other projects, etc,) Continuance of the project with respect to the strategy of the Programme Added value of the project in terms of improvement of the social and economic competitiveness of the involved territories; Innovation in terms of new competence acquisition, creation of new networks, new methods and the productive processes; Sustainability of the project beyond its duration ; An adequate and consistent planned budget with the timetable and the activities to implement.

24. 3. Management modalities: Organization and coordinating level of the implementing and financial modalities of the partners as far as communication and interrelation activities among them; Level of the self assessment system adopted (monitoring and control activities) to get informations concerning the implementation status of the project and of the objectives gained.

25. Thankyouforyourattention Catia Zumpano: zumpano@inea.it Barbara Zanetti: zanetti@inea.it Giuseppe Gargano: gargano@inea.it Forfurtherinformations, visitour website: www.reterurale.it