About LEADER

LEADER is a European initiative for assisting rural communities to improve the quality of life and economic prosperity in their local area. The acronym stands for Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l'Économie Rurale - links between actions of rural development. As its name suggests, it is a method of mobilising and delivering development in local rural communities, rather than a fixed set of measures to be implemented.

Experience has shown that LEADER can make a real difference to the daily lives of people in rural areas. It can play an important role in encouraging innovative responses to old and new rural problems, building local capabilities and testing out new ways of meeting the needs of rural communities.

LEADER is now part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), which is administered by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have responsibility for delivering the RDPE in the regions and therefore the LEADER initiative.