How Do Local Action Groups Connect to External Development Institutions? A Webometric Analysis in Digital and Geographical Space

Local Action Groups (LAGs) are area-based cross-sectoral partnerships in receipt of European Union (EU) funding, grouping inhabitants and organizations working for local development and solving local problems. LAGs usually run their own websites informing about various activities of local communities and the possibility of obtaining funds for local projects. In our research, we analyzed Internet hyperlinks leading from LAG websites to websites of external institutions (non-members of LAGs). The main objective was to assess which non-member external organizations dealing with rural development issues are considered by LAGs as the most important sources of information and proposed as of potential interest to website visitors. The research covered all of 324 LAG websites existing in Poland in 2021 and hyperlinks led to websites of 313 external institutions (including other LAGs). A basic network analysis of the collected data was performed, with particular emphasis on the geographical location of the institutions to which the links lead. The average number of external organizations, whose homepages had been proposed through hyperlinks, was low—less than five per LAG. Only 19 LAG proposed websites of 10 or more external organizations. The websites of national government institutions supervising financing or supporting LAGs located in Warsaw, such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (179) and the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture (174), were the most frequently recommended. Links to information portals of the EU were ranked fourth (only from 32 LAG websites). The relatively high number of hyperlinks also led to portals run or supervised by regional self-governments (Marshal's Offices). Analysis shows that LAGs focus mainly on providing information related to the redistribution of EU funds under Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) approach supporting local projects (most often the Rural Development Programme). LAGs are a weak intermediary in communicating information about the EU, its objectives and its regional policy. They also poorly inform about other organizations and programmes supporting local development and social activity. This indicates a high dependence of LAGs on the UE financing of the CLLD approach.