The Difficult, Limited Involvement of Public Actors in the LEADER Programme. Initiatives Which Got Left Behind in the Rural Areas of Andalusia

In this chapter, we explore the ultimate specific causes of the failure of the projects promoted by public actors, in particular town councils, within the framework of the LEADER neo-endogenous rural development programme. To this end, we analysed the project proposals presented by public bodies in each Local Action Group (LAG) area in Andalusia during the 2007–2013(+2) programming period, focusing on those in which the project was ultimately not carried out with LEADER funds and/or in which the project application was abandoned at some stage of the procedure. We began by analysing the regional government’s official internal database, created by the LAGs. This was followed by a series of semi-structured interviews. The results revealed the following: the official reasons for abandoning the project, opinions about the LEADER approach and the LAGs and the deep underlying causes for abandoning or withdrawing these initiatives. The complexity of the process is causing a regression in the essential principles of the LEADER approach, which makes public actors reluctant to participate, to such an extent that some see the LAGs as just another public body, as “inhibitors” rather than as “facilitators”. Unfortunately, the result is that half of the projects become little more than files which lie forgotten in drawers or heaps of paper. In addition, the role of these public actors appears to be limited to that of promoters and other types of involvement are difficult to discern. Our results also indicate that size matters. The villages with the smallest number of inhabitants often do not have the resources, technical personnel and capacity to carry out rural development projects. For their part, the provincial councils have played a largely irrelevant role as creators of initiatives or as providers of economic support for these small municipalities. It is therefore necessary to simplify the bureaucratic process, reduce the waiting time and advance payment of at least part of the grant.