Abstract:
The paper tackles the concept of local development and establishes methods of strategy development through the
LEADER program as main instrument for the GAL Rediu Prăjeni zone in order to eliminate the social disequilibrium of
this area in comparison to the urban areas.
The paper brings to foreground the way in which it is implemented a local strategy within LEADER axis, which
involves great importance and is also effective, because the local development is community-led, which allows to the
local partners (public, private, civil society) to achieve realistic local development strategies, based on the requirements
and priorities of rural territory taken into study. The Romanian rural area has numerous shortcomings, these
representing also the reason of disparities between urban and rural areas with all their components: rural economy,
demographic potential, health, school, culture, etc. To reduce these disparities, one solution is the development and
implementation of integrated development strategies by local communities, taking as a starting point the identified
needs and endogenous potential of rural areas