Indirect funds: the example of LEADER

The Local Action Groups (GAL) are public/private participants which join in the development of local territories, by means of the definition as LEADER (acronym of "Liaison entre Actions de Développement de l'Economie Rurale" – link between development actions and rural economy).
LEADER is a developmental approach of rural territories supported by the European Union which promotes the integrated and eco-friendly development of rural areas, giving stimulus to local resources and expression to the specific need of the territories through the “bottom-up” method.
GAL Prealpi and Dolomiti, was founded with the LEADER II (1994-1999) program, and is active in the southern part of the province of Belluno.

The resources are assigned from the Veneto Region (FEASR fund) to GAL based on a specific Developmental Local Programme (PSL). The financial endowment granted by the 2014-2020 programme amounts to 7,730,000 €. From its beginning (10 October 2016) to now, there have been 93 ( 32 public and 61 private) interventions amounting to a contribution of 5,300,000 (about 70% of the total financial endowment.).

The current financial interventions regard the realization of infrastructures for touristic development, the restoration of historic buildings, the development of agricultural businesses, production chains and innovations in the agricultural field.

With the definition of new monitoring laws and evaluations of politics and rural development, the new programme period 2014-2020 brings on new challenges for a correct evaluation of the effects of LEADER at the UE level, member , regional, and local states.

To this end, with the collaboration of the Department of TESAF of Padova University, the innovative Sistema di Monitoraggio e Valutazione (M&V) del Programma di Sviluppo Locale (PSL) del GAL Prealpi e Dolomiti (Gal PrealpiDolomiti: monitoraggio e valutazione), has been put into effect.

The evaluation is done by measuring social capital, as defined in the European context of Guidelines Evaluation of LEADER/CLLD pubblicate nell’agosto 2017.
The definition of Social Capital is the one proposed by Organizzazione per la Cooperazione and the Sviluppo Economico (OCSE), according to which social capital is made up of networks which along with regulations, values and mutual understandings, facilitate cooperation within and among the groups.
The social capital is analyzed in its 3 types (structural, normative-cognitive, aspects relating to governance).