Multi-system governance within the EU rural development policy: a proposal for LAGs self-evaluation in the LEADER program

This work explores the role of the “multi-level governance” concept in the current EU rural development policies and in the proposal for the programming period 2014-2020. The main objective is to set out a methodology for the self-evaluation of local governance with reference to the implementation of Local Action Programs (LEADER approach). The proposed methodology is based on the definition of 7 “good governance key dimensions” and a consequential set of sub-dimensions and criteria. The first part presents some notions and evidence on the EU multi-system governance. The second part discusses the self-evaluation process as a tool to enhance rural development assessment at local level: a tentative test for defining and validating the method is briefly described. The application has been implemented in Flanders (Belgium) and Umbria (Italy) through focus groups with experts involved in the LEADER. Some preliminary results are reported.