LEADER is a local development method which has been used for 30 years to engage local actors in the design and delivery of strategies, decision-making and resource allocation for the development of their rural areas.
It is implemented by around 2 800 Local Action Groups (LAGs), covering 61 % of the rural population in the EU and bringing together public, private and civil-society stakeholders in a particular area (situation as of end 2018 – EU-28).
In the rural development context, LEADER is implemented under the national and regional Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) of each EU Member State, co-financed from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).