Scottish Borders Update
Scottish Borders Leader 2007 – 2013 Update from Maria Mackenzie, Leader+ Co-ordinator, Scottish Borders Council.
Like the other Scottish LEADER regions, we anticipate that the new Programme will be launched in the spring of 2008.
Following a consultation process with the public, the “A Working Countryside” Community Planning Theme Team and other stakeholders it was agreed that the actions supported by the Scottish Borders LEADER Programme will deliver the two LEADER Programme themes “Progressive Rural Economy and “Revitalising Rural Communities”, and the six key delivery measures or ‘Innovation Areas’ will be:
- Diverse and sustainable rural businesses
- Inclusive economy and broader working age
- Greater range and distinctiveness of local products
- Realising the potential of the natural, built and cultural environment
- More cohesive, participative, responsible and sustainable communities
- More innovative, integrated community services
All projects will be asked to show how they relate to the above themes and delivery measures.
Innovative approaches to providing additional animation and capacity staff support will be explored at the start of the LEADER Programme. For example, the Local Action Group (or LAG, the partnership which manages LEADER in the Scottish Borders) will consider contracting local organisations, social enterprises and NGOs to deliver specific areas of the LEADER Strategy that require additional facilitation and capacity building support. This could include, for example, capacity building support for the development of local food projects, for working with the farming community, and for supporting innovation in new product development.
A sub-group of 15 AWC partners will form the LEADER Programme Decision Making Group (DMG), which makes the day-to-day decisions about LEADER projects. Five of these partners - Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs, Youth Borders, Borders Foundation for Rural Sustainability, Scottish Borders Community Councils’ Network, and the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association are new members of the proposed DMG. The addition of new partners will increase representation of farming, youth, community, and rural business interests at decision making level.
Once the timing of the Programme is understood Innovation Group meetings will take place, most likely in the form of mini workshops. Formal facilitation techniques will be used to structure the meetings and meetings will be held at a time, and in a location, to enable a wide representation of rural interest groups and individuals to fully participate. The aim of these meetings will be to;
- Facilitate new ideas and rural development solutions that can be developed into LEADER projects
- Use local connections to identify and encourage project applications
- Use their expertise to make links between individual projects with a view to achieving an increased level of coordination and integration
- Use the participants’ networks of contacts
to identify, and where possible, provide match funding