Toward an evaluation model for transnational cooperation activities in rural areas: a case study within an EU LEADER project

Abstract Cooperation activities between Local Action Groups (LAGs) have been introduced into EU LEADER (Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l’Économie Rurale) initiative to provide rural areas the opportunity to exchange experiences and best practices, as well as to realize common activities by pooling human and financial resources. The main purposes are to overcome isolation and add value to local development strategies. The benefits of cooperation are widely recognized but, undeniably, it can be also a difficult and time-consuming process. For this reason, evaluation is a necessary tool to measure the success of cooperation and to help actors address their strategies for the future. In this paper, an evaluation methodology is proposed and applied to an EU LEADER+ case study, the ‘Integrated Project for Rural Tourism: Environment and Qualified Hospitality’, a transnational cooperation experience led by LAG Aspromar, based in the province of Reggio Calabria, Southern Italy. Quantitative and qualitative data have been collected through the integration of three typical methods of social research: two techniques based on surveys, namely interviews with privileged actors, and a semi-structured questionnaire, and a technique based on non-survey data and the study of documents. Results can be useful to highlight pros and cons of the management of a cooperation project and to stimulate projects’ leaders on activating improvement processes.

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What Are the Impacts of Social Innovation? A Synthetic Review and Case Study of Community Forestry in the Scottish Highlands

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084359 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4359

Author(s):

Carla Barlagne ◽

Mariana Melnykovych ◽

David Miller ◽

Richard J. Hewitt ◽

Laura Secco ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Communities ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Community Forestry ◽

Social Innovation ◽

Local Development ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Social Dimension ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Study Approach

In a context of political and economic austerity, social innovation has been presented as a solution to many social challenges, old and new. It aims to support the introduction of new ideas in response to the current urgent needs and challenges of vulnerable groups and seems to offer promising solutions to the challenges faced by rural areas. Yet the evidence base of the impacts on the sustainable development of rural communities remains scarce. In this paper, we explore social innovation in the context of community forestry and provide a brief synthetic review of key themes linking the two concepts. We examine a case of social innovation in the context of community forestry and analyse its type, extent, and scale of impact in a marginalized rural area of Scotland. Using an in-depth case study approach, we apply a mixed research methodology using quantitative indicators of impact as well as qualitative data. Our results show that social innovation reinforces the social dimension of community forestry. Impacts are highlighted across domains (environmental, social, economic, and institutional/governance) but are mainly limited to local territory. We discuss the significance of those results in the context of community forestry as well as for local development. We formulate policy recommendations to foster and sustain social innovation in rural areas.

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BUILDING THE SOCIAL CAPITAL IN RURAL AREAS’ SMES WOMEN COOPERATIVE, GARGALIANI, SOUTH-WEST PELOPONNESOS

International Journal of Economics Business and Entrepreneurship ◽

10.23960/ijebe.v1i1.28 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Leonidas Papakonstantinidis

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Local Development ◽

Local Level ◽

Local People ◽

Human Communication ◽

South West ◽

The Social ◽

Development Procedure

The purpose of this paper is to prove that the rationalization of the “Integrated Endogenous Local Development” should be proved to be a valuable policy mean, under the proposed methodological procedure of Sensitizing Local People, through the “animation procedure”, toward developing their own skills, capacities and therefore their place, that are asked by the local SMEs Sensitization may be proved to be the fundamental methodological tool, for building the social capital at local level, by making valuable local people’s “intrinsic inclinations”-a “term” which is stronger than “capacities”- under a new value system, and human communication. ”Sensitization” - as the upper limit of the sensitization procedure- is been approached, step by step, especially: Establishing the “bottom-up approach” in planning the development procedure at local level, Establishing the “animation procedure” among local people, Analysing local people “intrinsic inclinations” in context with a “system value”, Creating a “team psychology” among local people, Encouraging local people in finding and adopting the local “Flag Theme”. The proposed procedure may be useful, especially in small, less developed and isolated rural areas. A case-study “Women Cooperative, Gargaliani, South-West Peloponnesos”, is referred as a typical case of the development procedure, based on local people (women) animation in Greece.

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Canadian Rural Youth and Role Tension of the Police: ‘It’s Hard in a Small Town’

Youth Justice ◽

10.1177/1473225419872406 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 199-214

Author(s):

Rosemary Ricciardelli ◽

Michael Adorjan ◽

Dale Spencer

Keyword(s):

Police Officers ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Rural Youth ◽

Eastern Canada ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Resource Officers ◽

Pros And Cons ◽

Youth Perceptions ◽

And Gender

This article presents findings from a case study examining youth perceptions of the police in rural areas of Eastern Canada. A total of 20 semistructured focus group discussions were conducted with 60 youth from Canadian rural Atlantic areas, who were purposively recruited, with groups stratified by age and gender. Discussions centered on role tension regarding the police’s role, that is, along a continuum between law enforcement and public protection versus community policing and crime prevention. Our discussions highlight the arguably ironic view that it is harder to maintain trust when there are strong personal relations with the police. Discussions highlight the ‘pros and cons’ of informal familiarity with police officers, especially the presence of school resource officers and policing in the context of monitoring youth on modes of transportation germane to rural Atlantic Canada (i.e. skidoos). Implications from this study suggest that when dealing with youth, identifying and addressing youth perceptions of the police role can help improve police–youth interactions.

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Sustainable Use and Conservation of the Environmental Resources of the Etna Park (UNESCO Heritage): Evaluation Model Supporting Sustainable Local Development Strategies

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12041453 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 1453 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Luisa Sturiale ◽

Alessandro Scuderi ◽

Giuseppe Timpanaro ◽

Benedetto Matarazzo

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Human Activities ◽

Rough Sets ◽

Local Development ◽

Evaluation Model ◽

Sustainable Use ◽

Development Strategies ◽

Endogenous Development ◽

Policy Makers

Rural areas are recognized as multifunctional spaces, where traditional agro-silvo-pastoral and other human activities (unrelated rural tourism, ecotourism, processing industries of agricultural and or extractive products, land maintenance, trade in local products, etc.) take place alongside each other. The integrated endogenous development model, established to mitigate the effects of human activity in protected areas, relies on the enhancement of specific resources of individual territories through the active participation of the community to promote local development. This model is intrinsically connected with the model of sustainable development, based on three cornerstones: environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The difficulty in achieving a reasonable balance among these values relates primarily to areas subject to protection (i.e., Parks and Natural Reserves). Ultimately, the environmental culture emphasizes the sustainability of natural resources, obviously in relation to these values and to the vulnerability of these areas. This paper outlines some relationships between environmental protection and the exercise of agricultural activities and other human activities in protected areas by using the theory of “rough sets”. The study aims to show that in the complex context of Etna Park (recognized World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2013), the model developed by the “rough sets” could provide useful guidance to policy makers to formulate local development strategies according to a model of the sustainable management of protected areas.

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Trademark potential increase and entrepreneurship rural development: A case study of Southern Transylvania, Romania

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0245044 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. e0245044

Author(s):

Daniel Stefan ◽

Valentina Vasile ◽

Maria-Alexandra Popa ◽

Anca Cristea ◽

Elena Bunduchi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Local Development ◽

Geographic Area ◽

Cultural Consumption ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Strategic Development ◽

Intangible Heritage ◽

Decision Making Model ◽

Hierarchy Process

Cultural heritage capitalization in rural areas redefines the local development model. Thus, heritage tourism has become the engine of economic activities diversification. This study aims to identify a decision-making-model substantiating algorithm in order to support the local heritage capitalization (lesser known on the international cultural consumption market), based on three types of qualitative researches, and the improved Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. In case of lesser known heritage, trademark potential and international cultural tourism route for heritage capitalization are smart choices for the innovative local hub development. The developed AHP version allows for a broader investigation of the characteristics that can lead to a trademark associated development based on integrated and innovative tourism products. To substantiate our approach and validate the model, we conducted a pilot study on a geographic area (Southern Transylvania, Romania), slightly exploited from the perspective of heritage potential, and characterized by a combination of heritage assets. The study’s results can be used by local authorities as a foundation for sound and strategic development of the area with economic potential from tangible and intangible heritage (re)interpretation.

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Valorisation and Development of Local Potential Through A Sustainable Tourism Scenario in South Sumatera

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202020207084 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 202 ◽

pp. 07084

Author(s):

Listen Prima

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Swot Analysis ◽

Local Development ◽

Sustainable Tourism ◽

Local Potential ◽

Case Study Method ◽

Initial Stage ◽

Urban And Rural Areas ◽

Area Development

Ineffective local development due to globalisation and urban agglomeration causes a significant gap between urban and rural areas. The need to promote the contribution of local development in rural areas has been a topic of debate and could be fulfilled by an innovative method. This research proposes a village alliance as the innovative framework to analyse the local potential within the case study area of Lubuk Sepang Village, South Sumatera Province, Indonesia. The framework of village alliance fits in the sustainability concepts that integrates Lubuk Sepang Village with eight other villages as an alliance as well as an applicative method that is representative of most dominant context of the rural area development, especially in Indonesia. Regarding the local potential, this research uses a case study method to explore a sustainable tourism scenario by using multiple tools: field survey, expert interviews, maps analysis, and SWOT analysis. The research aims to explore the local potential and outline the integration of the heritage richness with other potential elements based on the tourism advancement perspective. The result is an initial stage for the prospective method of protection, valorisation, and development of the local heritage richness.

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Stakeholders of public-private partnerships in Poland: an analysis of an evolving phenomenon

International Journal of Organizational Analysis ◽

10.1108/ijoa-08-2020-2384 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Tomasz Kusio

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Content Type ◽

Report Analysis ◽

Original Case ◽

Pros And Cons ◽

Personal Context ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose According to the growing role of stakeholders in the implementation of public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives, the purpose of this study is to diagnose the maturity of PPPs in Poland, taking into account the range of stakeholders’ participation in public-private initiatives. Design/methodology/approach The introductory study on the stakeholders of PPPs has been based on the report analysis of Polish initiatives and the case studies’ comparative analysis. The cases represent touristic projects realized within PPPs. Findings The results of the study indicate that the PPPs’ personal context, though recognized internationally, is to a very low extent present in the Polish case. As the PPP market is still in the process of development, the stakeholders’ issue should be taken into consideration in the processes of the PPP development in Poland. Practical implications As regional development is continuously a key issue, especially in rural areas context, the PPP initiatives are of great importance, and therefore the discussion of pros and cons in this context may contribute to the legislation at the regional level. Originality/value The study sheds some light and gives some interesting perspectives on the issue of the personal context of PPPs and social capital. Also, the text describes the path of developing PPPs in Poland and especially the touristic projects. The research part presents the original case study comparative analysis based on table-oriented form and as such enables the new way of contextual analysis.

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Systemic evaluation model in the integral management of small an medium-sized porcine businesses

Perspectivas ◽

10.19137/perspectivas-2021-v11n1a09 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 155-168

Author(s):

Ghiglione Franco Alexis ◽

◽

Rodolfo Oscar Braun ◽

Keyword(s):

Balanced Scorecard ◽

Evaluation Model ◽

Point Of View ◽

Evaluation Methodology ◽

Strategic Objectives ◽

The Balanced Scorecard ◽

Research Article ◽

Semi Arid Region

This research article aproaches in a systematic way the intrinsic problems typical of the daily management of small and medium-sized pig companies in the semi-arid region of the province of La Pampa, Argentina. Through the methodological use of a case study, from the point of view of the Balanced Scorecard, a set of indicators was constructed, grouped into four perspectives, which allowed to develop an adequate diagnosis of the current situation and to establish parameters for continuous improvement in the medium and long term. deadline to achieve the proposed strategic objectives. The document aims to present a generic evaluation methodology, which can be successfully replicated in other companies related to the pig agrifood chain, taking into account the particularities of any organization that develops productive activities.

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Looking at Well-being Data in Context

10.1007/978-3-030-72937-0_3 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 67-118

Author(s):

Susan Oman

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Quantitative Data ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Social Research ◽

Well Being ◽

Human Intervention ◽

Administrative Records ◽

Pros And Cons ◽

Objective Indicators

AbstractUnderstanding the where, what, how, who and why is important to any social research. This chapter poses these questions about data and well-being in various ways. We look at well-being measurement, appraising the pros and cons of different forms of data and approaches, acknowledging that all data have limits and that context should drive any chosen approach. It presents examples of qualitative data available through interviews and ethnographies, and quantitative data through surveys, and administrative records. We focus on objective well-being data and a case study of the OECD reveals the volume of decision-making behind international objective indicators. Such human intervention is rarely visible, but is important and useful to improve understanding and comprehension of well-being data more generally.

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Assessment of the effect of new tourism products on the economic recovery of rural areas in the context of empirical research on selected communes of the Lublin Voivodeship

Turyzm ◽

10.18778/0867-5856.30.1.17 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 53-60

Author(s):

Joanna Szczęsna ◽

Monika Wesołowska

Keyword(s):

Empirical Research ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Local Development ◽

Primary Objective ◽

Tourism Industry ◽

Case Study Method ◽

Tourism Product ◽

Survey Results ◽

The Creation

This paper presents examples of several original tourism products available in the rural areas of the Lublin Voivodship (Eastern Poland) which in the context of empirical research have contributed to the development of tourism. The primary objective is to determine how selected tourism products are created, and their role in the development of the tourism function and local development in general. The article employs the case study method and concerns four tourism products in four communes of the Lublin Voivodeship. An assessment of the effect of the created product on local development was based on research employing a diagnostic survey in the form of a questionnaire and interviews. The interviews concerned the process of the creation of a tourism product and its effects was undertaken among entrepreneurs from the tourism industry, and the questionnaire concerning the effects of the resulting tourism product on local development was addressed to residents. The survey results showed that in each of the analysed cases, the creation of the tourism product could have considerably contributed to the development of the tourism function and economic development of rural areas where such products were created. Socio-economic phenomena accompanying the development of the tourism function are perceived as positive by residents of selected communes that see the development of tourism as a chance to improve their image and improve living conditions.

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