Fishery Local Action Groups on the Move

Transcription

1 Building links with LEADER Fishery Local Action Groups on the Move Gijon, Asturias-Spain, March 2010 LESVOS LOCAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY S.A. - «ETAL S.A.» Case Study, Island of Lesvos GREECE Anastasios M. Perimenis Gen. Manager

2 Facts the area Lesvos is the 3 rd largest Greek Island, situated in the North East part of the Aegean Sea, It belongs to the Lesvos-Limnos-Ag. Eftratios Prefecture, part of the NORTH AEGEAN REGION, inhabitants in 1.632,82 km2 A rural Economy, 0.76% of GNP - Ranks 172 rd region of the 179 regions of Europe in terms of GNP per capita (E.U. regional objective 1 area). Characteristics Insular, remote, rural, aging population, unemployment (appx 12%), serious transportation problems, not well advanced infrastructure An island of un-spoilt rural-agricultural environment An Island of Culture, poets, musicians, artists An island with the largest olive groove in Greece and excellent quality of olive oil The origin of world famous OUZO, and Kalloni sardines Slower pace in the rhythms of everyday life, emphasis in family, neighbor and community ties 2

3 Facts the LAG AND FLAG Lesvos Local Development Company ETAL S.A. A Local Action Group, established in The trigger element was the implementation of E.U.I LEADER I. It is a partnership consisting of : Partnership : The Union of Municipalities of Lesvos, The Union of Agricultural Associations of Lesvos, The Chamber of Commerce of Lesvos, The Cooperative Bank of Lesvos-Limnos. The organization : employing 9 people, a board of directors, a Lag since 1992 (Leader I, II, +) programmes turnover app. 63 million Euros (49.1 since 2000). Key words : Partnership, Bottom-Up, Synergy, Endogenous forces, local capacity, public and private sector cooperation and networking, mentoring An integrated local strategy 1.Improvement of the attractiveness of the area by becoming more extrovert, working especially on the insular identity recognition and individuality 2. Emphasis on the Environment, green economy, rationalized use of resources, protection of the environment and the local culture 3. Diversification of the production of goods and services, aim to improve quality, productivity, becoming more antagonistic 4. Improvement of the quality of life, development of services that make peoples life better on the island 5. Developing the dexterities of the inhabitants, training, employability, improved social cohesion 3

4 LAGs vs FLAGs in the process of transition Both approaches are parallel to the early LEADER philosophy, with different timing What are the similarities? Methodology, criteria, structure and implementation rules, Similar issues to deal with What are the main differences? Less funds in Axis 4-EFF, different areas, different measures, less experience, in a start-up status What is the scope and benefits of cooperation? Take advantage of the existing experience, avoid mistakes, multiply-maximize results, foresee opportunities, grasp momentum What are the risks? Confusion of strategies, allocation of resources, loose track of goals and objectives, loose results What about networking? Commitment, insist in building links between local, regional, national and international groups 4

5 Areas, Partnerships, Strategies AXIS 4-LEADER-EAFRD AXIS 4-LEADER-EFF 5

6 Areas, Partnerships, Strategies AXIS 4-LEADER-RURAL AREA: Chosen based on activities and economic characteristics PARTNERSHIP: The Partners involved in the decision making process represent the agricultural sector, the entrepreneurs and the local municipalities STRATEGY: Main Focus Critical issues Rural Sector development Quality - Competitiveness Comparative advantages Extroversion Quality of Life Key word: INSULAR IDENTITY AXIS 4-LEADER-FISHERIES AREA: Chosen based on fisheries communities and lack of multi-sectoral links. PARTNERSHIP: A wider group, Local municipalities, Cooperative Bank, Agricultural cooperatives, Fisheries cooperatives, environmental actors. STRATEGY: Main Focus Critical issues Fishery Sector and activities Biodiversity preservation Diversification of risk New economic activities - entrepreneurship Key word: DOUBLE PAYOFF SCOPE: Multiply the resources and results of the LAG- FLAG OPPORTUNITIES : Use the acquired experience in the FLAG area, push to a new level the LAG area RESULTS: Comprehensive and complimentary implementation. Creation of links, promotion of the strategy, viable-sustainable results and pilot actions 6

7 Real Integration new Flag? old Lag? in our case the FLAG is the aftermath of the LAG we do not believe in old and new as much as of an evolved, wiser entity They share: Infrastructure - > Economies of scale Human Resources - > Taking Advantage of Experience Financial resources - > Have to have wiser allocation of funds New sectors - > Broadened Scope and Vision They integrate: Strategies - > Complimentary to one another Broader representation - > New Actors easier start-up Knowledge. - > Avoid better errors find the best timing keeping pace Knowledge.. - > Mentoring makes a great difference in grasping opportunities Knowledge - > Self-Confidence, long term vision resulting to TRUST by the local people for who we come from and try to provide the best possible service 7

8 The challenge of distinctiveness Finite number of actors How we plan to keep the whole endeavour complimentary and not overlapping? Attend to the distinct scope LAG-FLAG: Keep track of the plan - > Set up clear milestones and monitor them Human Resources - > Make good and clear allocation of responsibilities Financial resources - > Must be careful, prudent Timing - > Important to keep good and as parallel as possible pace, Evaluation - > Look back in the process and take corrective measures Decision Making Process: Decision making Bodies - > Involve active people in distinct decision making bodies Authority delegation - > There are not many activists but there are many activities, keep responsibilities clearly defined Involvement - > Get as many activists as possible involved, it helps creating understanding, not at the beginning -as the process goes on Realism-Pragmatism - > We should plan realistically, and not create demands we can not fulfil. 8

9 Achieving good timing, keeping pace Local Development momentum Three important aspects of time time, timing, tempo A LAG co-existing with a FLAG That is our case, planning should be in parallel steps, therefore both activities timewise should be complimentary and when one goes faster than the other the teams involved should be in close cooperation in order to help each other. A FLAG evolved from a LAG It has the experience from previous applications and projects therefore it needs to adapt to new or different practicality issues of a FLAG A new FLAG Probably a new world a new environment that could become overwhelming and create problems in timing, it is a quite often problem. It is very helpful to create links and network with other experienced LAGS or The above mentioned Flags Time, timing and tempo must be as aligned as possible in order to grasp the Local Development Momentum 9

10 Mentoring, Networking-Cooperation, Sharing resources in our experience working together and sharing knowledge and resources has proved extremely valuable. The value you can acquire varies from the most essential strategic planning to the trivia of every day activities MENTORING: There is a lot of unexplored, and unexploited knowledge. Mentoring can range from one FLAG to the other and should be combined with animation to the people of the areas we work and live in NETWORKING-COOPERATION: It is a very helpful tool in overcoming problems and get assistance in foreseeing issues ahead from the present situation. In order to achieve good results from the creation of links it is important to provide input as well SHARING RESOURCES: Setting up common projects and implementing them in different areas, exchanges in the human resources area, sharing knowledge and opinion on various issues 10

11 Last but not least PRACTICAL ISSUES in many ways FLAGs workload has to do with a lot of processes, procedures, critical decisions that bear impact on our communities. There is also need for well informed view-points in a rapidly developing environment, we need to apply a wide range of public procedures, provide equal access, adequate public notice, transparent systems, notification of conflicts of interest, flexible governance arrangements, clear division of roles between strategic and operational levels, financial governance, human resource skills, crisis management.. How can we deal with all of that in our small, remote, diffused and some times not open to new ideas areas and communities? Mentoring and Animation processes Keep thinks simple Networking Sound administrative system Deliver results - Earn trust Trust brings people together under a common set of goals and as we like a lot to quote as our belief for our FLAG endeavour : If you want to make people construct ships, do not try to gather them, assign them tasks and make them cut wood in the forests. The only think you need to make them is to long for the splendor and the immensity of the sea. people get united only when they set up common goals, because the ideal is what exalts the meanings Antoine de Saint-Exupery (Citadelle) THANK YOU FOR LISTENING Anastasios M. Perimenis G.M. ETAL S.A. 11