The LEADER approach came about in the European Union as a response to the need to develop rural areas by involving local residents. It is based on the bottom-up principle where municipalities, businesses and authorities come together in local action groups to jointly develop and implement development strategies. These groups may cover several neighbouring municipalities and focus on areas that share common challenges or potential, whether economic, social or environmental. This enables municipalities to work together rather than in isolation, pooling their resources and efforts to develop the entire region.
At the heart of this approach there are people’s specific needs. LEADER encompasses a much broader range of issues than just the agricultural sector: these can include infrastructure projects as well as initiatives to promote entrepreneurship, tourism or public spaces.
In the European Union countries, LEADER initiatives are supported through special financial instruments. Which is why, in Ukraine, this approach is seen not only as a new development strategy but also as a potential route to accessing European funds. However, this requires an institutional model that is clear to the EU — specifically, a network that brings together local action groups and operates according to clear rules. The framework must be regulated from both a technical and a legal perspective, as only then can Ukraine expect to make full use of the European support instruments.
The introduction of LEADER in Ukraine requires systematic solutions. Key challenges include the lack of clear legal definitions (such as what constitutes a rural area or a local action group), sustainable funding mechanisms and effective coordination between different levels of government, from local to state. Otherwise, it would be difficult to ensure the sustainability and scalability of the approach.
Another key requirement is building up local capacity. Specifically, it refers to professionals who can coordinate processes, align local initiatives with regional and state policies, and help municipalities make use of new tools.
This is what Andrii Pohorilyi, the Head of the Rural Development Working Group at U-LEAD, explains:
“LEADER is neither a fund nor a separate institution; it’s an approach that enables municipalities to shape the development of their own territories. The essence of this approach is to let ideas emerge at the grassroots level — from individuals, businesses and local authorities — and only then be taken up at higher levels. However, for it to work, a clear framework is vital: who forms the local action groups, how they operate, and how they interact with central government and the regions. Today, Ukraine lacks this link between the local and regional levels, and this is one of the main obstacles. At the same time, we can see that LEADER gives municipalities access to European best practices and, potentially, to EU funding. To achieve this, an institutional framework needs to be established, including defining roles, introducing appropriate coordination mechanisms and training local professionals. Which is why we at U-LEAD are taking a proactive approach: we are already launching training programmes, supporting capacity-building in municipalities, and helping to lay the groundwork for implementing this approach in Ukraine”.
Despite the challenges, LEADER opens up new opportunities for municipalities. It helps leverage resources, build partnerships and work towards a shared vision for development. In the long term, approaches like this could set the stage for the recovery and sustainable development of rural areas in Ukraine.
