Facilitating the area-based development approach in

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Facilitating the area-based development approach
in rural regions in the Western Balkans
Geertrui Louwagie Fabien Santini Silvia
Saravia Matus Sergio Gomez y Paloma European
Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for
Prospective Technological Studies AGRILIFE unit
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The Institute for Prospective Technological
Studies (IPTS)

• a directorate of the JRC
• provides customer-driven support to EU policy
  making
• aims at policy challenges that have a
  socio-economic and science technology dimension
  

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The AGRILIFE unit within IPTS
SUSTAG / AGRITRADE / AGRITECH
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Introduction

• Issue
• Disruption / decline in rural cross-border
  regions in Western Balkans
• Background
• SWG-Rural Regional Development previous meetings
  
• assessment development situation in rural
  cross-border areas
• preliminary studies
• EastAgri (2008)
• round table on area-based development

• General objective project
• To facilitate rural development programming in
  the Western Balkans

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The project

• Administrative Arrangement between DG AGRI and
  the JRC for a shared project
• Steering Group AGRI, ELARG, JRC
• meets 5 times
• Advisory Board SWG secretariat, FAO (RO, IC),
  UNDP, OECD (LEED), World Bank
• meets 3 times
• Support from School on Local Development
  University of Trento

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Introduction

• Case Study
• 1. Defining a pilot target area
• 2. Assessing the development situation
• the baseline
• critical needs
• priority solutions/interventions
• 3. Defining the ABD intervention
• main outcome (desired development situation)
• specific objectives
• results
• B. Workshop
• C. Methodological package / Mapping

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The project

• Indicative calendar
• m3 (Sep 2010) Literature review / Pilot case
  study area setting
• m6 (Dec 2010) Preliminary assessment of
  development situation in pilot target area
• m10 (Apr 2011) Completion of ABD approach in
  pilot target area
• m12 (May 2011) Workshop
• m15 (Sep 2011) final report

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Literature review

• - Afghanistan Rural Rehabilitation Programme
  (ARRP)
• - Central America Programme for Displaced
  Persons, Refugees and Repatriated (PRODERE)
• - Sudan Stabilization and Development Schemes

UNDP - ABD Origins (1980s)
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Literature review

• ABD Definition
• ABD targets specific geographical areas in a
  country, characterised by a particular complex
  development problem, through an integrated,
  inclusive, participatory and flexible approach.
  (Harfst, 2006)
• ABD Theoretical Background
• Endogenous Growth Theory / Endogenous Development
• Participation / decentralisation
• Holistic / Multi-sectoral

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• ABD Implementation Evaluation
• When to implement ABD
• Am I dealing with a clearly identifiable area
  that has unique or specific problems that sets it
  apart from other areas in the country and
  therefore merits special attention?
• Is the development situation in the area
  relatively simple (i.e. confined to one sector or
  issue with clearly identifiable causes and
  effects or is the situation complex and
  multi-dimensional where causes and effects are
  heavily interlinked?
• (Harfst, 2006)

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PAG Public Administration Participatory
Governance CPE Community Participation
Empowerment BIS Basic Infrastructure
Services LED Local Economic Development SDA
Social Development Assistance CPT Conflict
Prevention Tolerance Promotion PIR Policy
Institutional Reform
Literature review

• From theory to practice ABD Implementation
  Evaluation
• Examples of ABD Evaluation Reports

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Literature review

• Other Approaches to Local Rural Development - How
  is ABD similar and different?
• INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT
• PARTICIPATORY NEGOTIATED TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT
  
• COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT
• LEADER

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Literature review

• Other Approaches to Local Rural Development -
• Focus on EU approach LEADER
• Some similarities
• area-based
• bottom-up
• integrated / multi-sectoral actions
• Some differences
• no area-specific complex development problem
  required
• not necessarily inclusive (target groups)
• poor consideration rural-urban linkages / rural
  towns
• limited to areas with 5 000 - 100 000
  inhabitants (lt NUTS 3)
• Lessons from NMS / Balkans
• Slovenia
• Croatia

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Literature review

• Experiences of Cross-border Cooperation (CBC)
• INTERREG-A

Factors for successful and effective CBC legal
framework for CBC, quality of partnerships,
degree of institutionalisation
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Literature review

• Experiences of Cross-border Cooperation (CBC)
• IPA CBC / Council of Europe
• - For each Western Balkan country
• , multi-annual indicative planning document
  (MIPD)
• - Focus
• people-to-people contacts
• small-scale investments and prep. to larger
  investments
• (since 2006) cross-border institution building
  (CBIB)
• - Experiences in
• FYROM, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro

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Literature review

• Recommendations / Lessons for ABD
• ABD intervention design
• Accurately define target area
• Focus intervention on needs and priorities of
  the area
• Promote early involvement of stakeholders
  donors
• Ensure unbiased participation
• Match resources (time, budget) with objectives
• Guarantee coherence ABD progr. with
  macro-situation

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Literature review

• Recommendations / Lessons for ABD
• ABD intervention management
• Coordinate activities (also across donors)
• Monitor and evaluate regularly
• Reduce transaction costs
• Foresee exit strategy

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Case study

• Pilot target area Drina Lim rivers / Tara
  mountain
• Features
• 13 municipalities, all border with one exception
• 380.000 inhabitants
• 7.860 km²

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Target area Drina river / Tara mountain
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Case study

• Assessment of the baseline development situation
  Critical needs
• Data collection / analysis
• Identify development gaps /problems to be
  addressed
• Local stakeholder consultation
• Assessment and selection of priority
  interventions Proposing main outcomes,
  objectives and outputs
• Options for solution to development problems
• Prioritisation
• Different levels of intervention (from local to
  national public private)
• Local stakeholder consultation

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Case study

• Preparation of an Area-Based development
  programme
• define detailed activities
• identify actors
• specify inputs
• establish monitoring mechanisms

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Surveys/Questionnaires (2) web / facebook
based targeting population not using
internetStakeholders group 25-30 selected
stakeholders cross border representation
1/3 public 1/3 private 1/3 civil society
four areas business (including farms), social
sphere, environment, local administrations
Delphi group Helicopter view 5-10
expertsThematic working groupsLocal enlarged
workshopLocal support young researchers
SSL supporting local NGO
Case study
Main implementing tools foreseen
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Sep Oct 2010 Survey/Questionnaire 1 Expert
knowledge Setting up SG / DG Result expected
draft baseline assessmentOct - Nov
2010 Stakeholders group Delphi group
interaction Expert knowledge Thematic working
groups Result expected (D2) improved draft
baseline assessment, participatory draft
critical needs, priority intervention, main
outputs
Preliminary internal timing
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Dec 2010 Feb 2011 Feedback project SG /
AB Survey/Questionnaire 2 Expert knowledge SG
/ DG Thematic working groups Local enlarged
workshop Result expected final baseline
assessment, participatory critical needs,
priority intervention, main outputsFeb - Mar
2011 Stakeholders group Delphi group
interaction Expert knowledge Thematic working
groups Result expected (D3) detailed
activities, output monitoring mechanisms
Preliminary internal timing
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Dissemination, Transferability

• Adapted methodology for similar ABD programmes
  in cross border rural WB
• build on the existing (ABD local development
  approaches / LEADER / cross border experiences)
• lessons learnt from the case study
• dissemination plan
• Map other potential areas

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Dissemination, Transferability

• Workshop
• identify target attendance
• Locals- Nationals- Bilaterals- Multilaterals /
  Eastagri network
• - Others OSI-LGI
• disseminate the pilot case study results
• raise awareness on adapted ABD potential use in
  the area
• seek commitment to participate in implementation

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Thank you for your attention