Influence of a local action group on the local community

Abstract

A Local Action Group (LAG) represents a collaboration of localities and companies from the same perimeter that merge in an association. The representatives of the Territorial Administrative Units together with the representatives of the most important companies within the respective perimeter form a partnership in order to implement the LEADER financing measures available through the National Rural Development Program NRDP and respectively the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development EAFRD. Depending on the area features where this partnership is established, the size of a LAG, from the inhabitants number point of view, can have between 3,000 and 120,000 inhabitants. Usually, such an association has about 40-50 members, including representatives of local communities and the private environment - economic units. The Local Action Group thus formed can apply for non-reimbursable funds and thus become itself a fund management body for the potential beneficiaries in its territory. The Local Action Group taken for study was established in 2011, includes localities from Iasi and Botosani counties, respectively ten communes, one town, and 30 economic units, representing about 7% of the cumulative area of the two counties. During the entire period of operation, this LAG carried out more than 50 projects with a total value of non-refundable financing of more than 3,000,000 Euros. The current work aims to interpret the effectiveness and influence of the local action group on the community.