Local Action Groups and Rural Development Projects: The LEADER Program in Slovenia

This paper analyses the influence of a formal and informal system of the Local Action Group (LAG) board’s performance on the perception of its members about suitability of rural development projects for LEADER funds co–financing. The unique in-depth survey data was obtained from the surveys with the 103 LAG board’s members using the written questionnaire designed for the inquiry and from existing data analysis on projects which were co–financed by the LEADER funds in Slovenia in the years 2008 and 2009. The informal system of performance of the LAG board members was found to influence significantly its members’ perception on the suitability of projects to be co–financed by the LEADER axis. The opposite was established for the formal system, which had insignificant influence on the board members’ perception on the suitability of projects.