Delivery of the Rural Development Programme for England in the North West via the Leader Approach Guidance for the Completion of Pro-forma The Expression of Interest (EOI) pro-forma should be completed by all groups wishing to apply to deliver Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) activity via the Leader approach in the North West. The pro-forma represents an expression of interest only and groups who submit an EOI do not have to proceed to the full applications stage if they do not wish to do so. However, for a group to make a full application they must submit an EOI proforma. At this stage, the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) is looking for outline proposals which will be qualitatively assessed against the national selection criteria by the Regional Panel. The Regional Panel will make one of two recommendations as detailed in the Leader Prospectus. It is therefore in the groups own interest to provide a brief and clear overview of the group and what they intend to deliver. We wish to encourage consideration of cross county and regional boundary activities and innovation in terms of how the Leader approach can be used to address local issues. Further details of how cross-regional boundary groups will work are available in the Leader Prospectus. However, if your group is intending to deliver activity across regional boundaries we would recommend that you complete the EOI pro-forma at this stage and inform all Regional Development Agencies involved as soon as you can. The mechanism for making a full application will be clarified following consultation. Please note that the EOI pro-forma will not be scored. Groups who have submitted an EOI will receive commentary from the Regional Panel on the extent to which the meet the core requirements of the Leader approach as defined in Articles 61 and 62 of the Rural Development Regulation and the national selection criteria. The EOI pro-forma, along with this guidance note, will be posted on the NWDA’s website at www.nwda.co.uk/rdpe by 3 March 2008. Any groups interested in delivering via the Leader approach will be able to download the pro-forma as a word document and complete as necessary. The following contacts can answer any questions you may have and provide support: NWDA – For queries on all Leader issues Louise Bell – 01768 861340 Natural England – Just for queries on environmental issues Richard Lord – 0161 234 0222 Forestry Commission – Just for queries on forestry issues Penny Oliver – 01768 776616
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Guidance on each of the thirteen questions in the EOI pro-forma is detailed below. Question 1 Question 2 Question 3
Question 4
Question 5
Question 6
Question 7
Provide the contact details of the person who is dealing with the application. Provide the name chosen for the Local Action Group or LAG. This can be changed at a later date. Provide details of the membership of the LAG partnership including names and organisation represented. You must also indicate whether the organisation is in the public, private or voluntary and community sectors. Non-public sector representation must make up at least 50% of the partnership. Provide an outline of the geographic area to be covered by the LAG. As a minimum this needs to include a description of the: • population of the area; • local social and economic conditions; and • particular circumstances of the local environment. Indicate which wards and parishes you intend to include and attach a map to illustrate the geographic boundaries of the group. Here you must indicate the key issues, in the geographic area you have identified, which you intend to address and how you propose to address these through Leader. In this section also identify the main objectives of the LAG. The objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. Indicate how these objectives will fit in with one or more of the four thematic actions areas identified in the North West Regional Implementation Plan (RIP) as follows: • Making farming and forestry more competitive and sustainable; • Enhancing the environment and countryside; • Enhancing opportunities in rural areas; and • Skills, knowledge transfer and capacity building. Indicate in this section which measures from Axis 1 and/or 3 you intend to use to deliver projects in your LAG area. Refer to the RIP for measures to be delivered in the North West. In the RIP each measure is given a notional allocation of funding and designated as high, medium or low priority. A LAG can deliver any selection of Axes 1 or 3 measures identified in the RIP. It is imperative that potential groups also refer to the appropriate sub-regional strategies. These can be downloaded from the NWDA website at www.nwda.co.uk/rdpe and provide details of the priorities identified in each of the sub-regions. Indicate in this section how your activity fits with the subregional strategy for RDPE in your sub-region or sub-regions. All of the sub-regional strategies can be downloaded from the
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Question 8 Question 9 Question 10
Question 11
Question 12
Question 13
Question 14
NWDA website at www.nwda.co.uk/rdpe. Groups are strongly advised to contact their sub-regional rural partnership prior to submission of the EOI to discuss the activities which they plan to deliver. Contact details of all of the sub-regional rural partnerships can be found in the Leader Prospectus. Please indicate what discussions have taken place with the sub-regional rural partnership and how you intend to take this further if your proposal is accepted to progress to the next stage. Indicate which organisation will undertake the accountable body role. Also state whether this organisation has formally agreed to undertake this role. In this section, provide an outline of how you will ensure that you secure value for money in the administration of the local development strategy. Describe how you have and will continue to engage local stakeholders, e.g. farmers, foresters and rural communities, in the delivery of the objectives of the LAG. Where appropriate attach evidence to demonstrate engagement. Describe what skills, training or studies of the geographic area are needed for the LAG to deliver its objectives. A small amount of funding may be available for this type of activity and your answer will help gauge regional need. Briefly, outline what experience you have of developing and delivering public funds. If your group is an existing or former LAG who has delivered through LEADER+, detail how you will add value to what has already been delivered through the previous local development strategy. Natural England and the Forestry Commission will be responsible for the delivery of measures through Axis 2 of the RDPE. Government ministers are taking the position that Axis 2 measures will not be delivered via the Leader approach. It is very important that even though the LAG will not deliver any activity through Axis 2, they demonstrate an awareness of the schemes to enable integration across axes and ensure value for money. This question therefore seeks to determine what mechanisms you will have in place to ensure you achieve integration within your local development strategy between all three axes. Environmental sustainability is a theme running throughout the RDPE. Describe how you will incorporate sustainable development principles into your local development strategy .
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Send your completed EOI pro-forma to the following address: Ruth Parker RDPE Northwest Regional Development Agency Unit 1 Enterprise House Gillan Way Penrith Cumbria CA11 9BP Clearly mark the envelope “EXPRESSION OF INTEREST – LEADER”. The deadline for submission of completed EOI is 1700 hours on 7th April 2008. EOI pro-formas received after this deadline will not be reviewed by the Regional Panel and will therefore be unable to progress to the full applications stage during this round.
Round 3 – Leader Approach - Planned Timetable Launch of call for Expressions of Interest Deadline for Submission of Expression of Interest Applicants to receive feedback from EOI Call for Full Applications Deadline for Submission of Full Applications Successful Local Actions Groups begin activity
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3 March 2007 7 April 2008 at 1700 hours w/c 12 May 2008 31 July 2008 at 1700 hours end October 2008
The Regional Panel If the EOI is submitted within the published timescales, the pro-forma will be reviewed by the NWDA and considered in depth by the Regional Panel who will convene at the beginning of May 2008. The Regional Panel will also be ultimately responsible for the selection of LAGs Local Development Strategies at the full application stage. The Panel will be chaired by the Chair of the Rural Affairs Forum and consist of representatives from the following organisations: • • • • • • •
Natural England Forestry Commission North West Regional Assembly Regional Skills Partnership Environment Agency Northwest Regional Development Agency Government Office for the North West (GONW)
GONW will be present on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to assure the process follows the advertised procedure.
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