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Rural Vision
News article20 November 2022Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development

Handbook of Territorial and Local Development Strategies

The ‘Handbook of Territorial and Local Development Strategies’ has been launched on 18th November!

The ‘Handbook of Territorial and Local Development Strategies’ has been launched on 18th November! It provides valuable knowledge on how to design and implement integrated strategies in areas other than urban. It aims to serve managing authorities of operational programmes, local strategy owners as well as other stakeholders involved in the process, and in particular those who are designing or revising territorial and local development strategies by means of territorial tools (Integrated Territorial Investments, Community-led Local Development, ...).

Territorial cohesion is at the heart of one of the EU’s longest-standing policies – the EU cohesion policy.

The territorial dimension of the EU cohesion policy was strengthened in the 2021–2027 programming period with the introduction of the dedicated Policy Objective 5 (PO5) ‘Europe closer to citizens’, which aims to foster the sustainable and integrated development of all types of territories and local initiatives. In line with this objective, the ‘Handbook of Territorial and Local Development Strategies’ offers methodological support for managing authorities of operational programmes, local authorities and any other organisation involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of development strategies in areas other than urban areas.

This Handbook is designed as a policy-learning tool for policy-makers, helping them become aware of the different options they have. It offers inspiration and food for thought on how to tackle the most relevant or recurring policy challenges that territorial development actors may encounter during the process of strategy making by providing them with a number of practical tips, concrete examples and recommendations, as well as references to existing literature, guidance and tools.

Cover image of the handbook

The Handbook is a joint initiative by the European Commission’s Directorates-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC), and it benefits from the active contribution of policymakers, practitioners and scholars. It is also one of the first milestones for the delivery of the Toolkit on using and combining EU funds for rural development under preparation for summer-autumn 2023.

 

Details

Publication date
20 November 2022
Author
Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development