The LEADER+ program is a European Community initiative for assisting rural communities to improve the quality of lifeand economic prosperity in their local area. LEADER+ aims to encourage and support communities to think about the longer term potential of their area by encouraging sustainable development projects designed to encourage experimenting with new ways of doing the following:

i) enhancing natural and cultural heritage

ii) reinforcing the economic environment, in order to contribute to job creation

iii) improving the organisational abilities of communities

The program wil fund three areas of activities as defined by the European Union; namely:

a) Integrated, pilot development projects. The action will assist local organisations to develop and implement high quality, innovative and sustainable development plans and projects.

b) Co-operation between rural areas. This strand encourages joint projects with other groups in the UK, EU or other countries, by pooling together skills and resources to achieve the objectives set out in their development plan.

c) Networking. All groups exchange ideas and share good practice through the national LEADER+ network.

LEADER+ can fund up to a maximum of 50% of the project costs. For more information, visit www.wisl.org.uk