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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Setting up Effective Management in Rural Development

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Not only companies but also entire regions are faced with an intensifying international competition. Hence, regions are constantly forced to adapt their social and economic structures to changing conditions. The competitiveness of regions rests largely on networking and cooperation of various regional actors from the private, public and third sector. Such rather weakly institutionalised forms of steering are often subsumed under the heading of regional governance. However, regional governance does not evolve automatically. It is the subject of sound management under very complex conditions. Political opportunity structures can have a high impact on the establishment of regional governance. In rural development the so called LEADER approach is a prominent. LEADER combines public funding for both management structures and projects with governance criteria. In spite of its crucial role in steering the rural development process management has been the subject of evaluations only to a very limited extent. The aim of this paper is to identify factors that have a positive impact on the development of a professional and effective management in rural development. This is the case for a LEADER territory’s congruency with other spatial entities, adequate staffing, transparency of project selection and technical support by programme authorities. Based on these findings suggestions are derived. They should serve as a guidance for the preparation for the coming period 2014- 2020.