This guide to community-led local development (CLLD) has been issued at the start of the 2014-2020 programming period in order to give those directly involved in local action groups some practical tools and suggestions for implementing CLLD in a range of contexts. This guide should also be relevant to provide arguments for cities and social organisations that CLLD is an effective tool for meeting some of their challenges and to illustrate how ESF and ERDF can be used.

This guide is complementary to the "Guidance on Community-led Local Development in European Structural and Investment Funds" [PDF ] issued by the ESI Funds DGs to help the authorities in the Member States to create the conditions for effectively using CLLD in their Partnership Agreements and to design it in their respective programmes.

The Commission expects CLLD to facilitate implementing integrated approaches among the European Structural and Investment Funds concerned to achieve at local level the 11 thematic objectives of the proposed Common Provisions Regulation 2014-201. The Commission encourages the use of CLLD as it also allows local communities to take ownership of the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy.

The main purpose of this guidance issued by four Directorates-General of the European Commission (DG AGRI, EMPL, MARE and REGIO) is to help the authorities in the Member States to create the conditions for effectively using community-led local development in their Partnership Agreements and to design it in their respective programmes.

For further information visit the INFOREGIO website on ‘Future cohesion policy’.

Chapter II (Articles 28 to 31) under Title III on Programming sets out the details of Community-led local development, ‘which is designated as LEADER local development in relation to EAFRD’. Furthermore, the draft regulation (referred to as the Common Provisions Regulation or CPR) also states that ‘[s]upport from the CSF Common Strategic Framework Funds to local development shall be consistent and coordinated between the CSF Funds’.

For further information on ‘EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020: legislative proposals’ visit DG REGIO website .

The European Commission adopted legislative proposals for cohesion policy for 2014-2020 in October 2011. This factsheet on CLLD is one in a series highlighting key elements of the future approach.

For further information on ‘EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020: legislative proposals’ visit DG REGIO website

How can community-led local development (CLLD) become a powerful tool for improving our cities? Drawing on URBACT’s experience, experts in urban development have put forward their first answers in an article entitled ‘Implementing “community-led” local development in cities. Lessons from URBACT’.

For further information on ‘EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020: legislative proposals’ visit DG REGIO website