Scotland: National Rural Network
Connecting Rural Scotland - Promoting Rural Growth

Around 100 representatives from LEADER Local Action Groups attended the 2010 Scottish LEADER Conference at the Treetops Hotel in Aberdeen on 18 June. Speakers included Peter Russell from the Scottish Government, Gerallt Llewellyn Jones and Gail Merriman from Wales, and Martin MacDonald from Northern Ireland.

The event was hosted by the Rural Aberdeenshire Local Action Group (LAG), whose Chair James Knowles welcomed delegates and spoke of the success of LEADER in Aberdeenshire - from a standing start, they have now got £2.5 million in funding committed, supporting 80 projects. Partnership working on the LAG has been a great success, including with the private sector.

Commenting that LAGs need to recognise that risk taking is part of what has made LEADER a success and "If you've never taken a risk, you've never progressed" he called for a less risk averse approach in future.

Peter Russell from the Scottish Government explained how LEADER and the SRDP support the Scottish Governments objectives realted to sustainable economic growth as laid out in the National Performance Framework. At the mid-term point of the programme, half the available funding has been committed or spent. For LEADER, the average commitment is 38%, with considerable variation between LAGs.

Highlighting various opportunities and challenges, he left the conference with the question "How can we work together to make LEADER a success in Scotland?" Peter's presentation is here.

Martin McDonald of the Rural Network in Northern Ireland explained his organisation's role in the delivery on LEADER in that country and spoke about how it had "brought a sense of empowerment to Northern Ireland's rural communities" and played a valuable role in the peace process.

Gail Merriman from the Welsh Assembly Government gave an account of the Welsh LEADER experience and the work of the Wales Rural Network. She highlighted the expanding role of LEADER LAGs, including delivery of many exciting projects. You can download her presentation here.

Gerrallt Jones gave a rural development practitioner's perspective of LEADER in Wales, and said that the current and future programmes need to retain the strengths that have made it popular and successful programme that effectively brings EU funding directly into peoples' lives. His presentation is here.

Following a Q & A session, thematic workshops included Communications; Maximising spend; Networking; 2013 and beyond; Roles and Responsibilities; Maximising Stakeholder Engagement. Reports on these will be available shortly.