Territory, structures and interpretation — Two case studies of the European Unionʹs LEADER I programme

This paper reflects on the nature of the EU LEADER I local (participative) rural development programme using two empirical case studies. The two initiatives are analysed temporally as they moved from the construction of a territorial rationale, through the establishment of local structures of participation and finally into a philosophy and modus operandi in the implementation phase. The central argument of the paper is that this style of approach reflects the basic principles of the local, territorial policy approach and that evaluation methods need to evolve to be able to focus on process, structures and interpretation/learning rather than on the measurement of concrete activity.