INFORMATION

General information about The Nordic-Baltic Leader Cooperation Award

The Nordic-Baltic Regions Rural Network Support Units - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden initiated The Nordic-Baltic Leader Cooperation Award.

The LEADER Transnational Cooperation Awards collected 60 applications from participating countries.

The first selection of nominated Nordic-Baltic Leader transnational cooperation projects is now done!

The finalists of the five categories were chosen out of 60 nominees in Roskilde, Denmark on the 6th June 2013. The evaluation committee included the representatives of Estonia, Lithuanian, Latvia, Swedish, Finnish and Danish rural network.

More detailed information about applicant and finalists is available in database in the end of the PAGE.

The aim of the competition is to:

• highlight the importance of transnational cooperation for rural development in the Nordic-Baltic countries;
• recognise and promote existing Leader transnational cooperation “success stories” involving the Nordic-Baltic countries;
• raise awareness amongst a wider audience of the interesting and diverse themes and activities which could be developed for future transnational cooperation with and between the Nordic-Baltic countries;
• acknowledge the Local Action Groups which are currently active in the Nordic-Baltic countries, and inspire these and other Local Action Groups to continue with transnational cooperation during the new programming period (2014-2020);
• reinforce the role of LEADER in supporting implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.

Criteria for participating LEADER TNC project in the competition:

• The Leader transnational cooperation project must involve at least one Nordic-Baltic Local Action Group as a partner;
• The Leader transnational cooperation project must be included in the list of Leader transnational cooperation projects that have been notified to the European Commission. This list can be viewed on the ENRD LEADER Gateway website enrd.ec.europa.eu/leader/leader/en/transnational-cooperation_en.cfm
• The projects have not to be totally completed.

Award categories:

There are five award categories for which Leader transnational cooperation projects can apply. These are laid out below with examples of the types of project nominations which are expected:

• YOUTH - Leader transnational cooperation projects which diversify activities for young people and children in rural areas; Youth exchanges, camps, festivals or other thematic events; Activities which develop entrepreneurship and involvement in community development amongst young people in rural areas.

• TOURISM - Leader transnational cooperation projects developing rural tourism; Promoting tourism through the creation of a common brand, identity or idea for a region(s); Promoting tourism in an area through festivals or thematic events.

• CULTURE - Leader transnational cooperation projects which have supported cultural development in the fields of art, handicraft, theatre, music, dance, folklore or heritage protection; Festivals, exhibitions or other cultural events; Research or publications in the field of culture; Business development in the field of culture.

• LOCAL AREA DEVELOPMENT - Leader transnational cooperation projects which have enabled local area development; Village development; New solutions for delivering services and infrastructure, Local business support or business diversification and innovation.

• LOCAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT - Leader transnational cooperation projects which have developed the use of local resources; Local food and local food supply chains; Better use of local raw materials; Protection of the environment; Activities in environmentally protected areas e.g. organic farming; Ecological entrepreneurship; Development of renewable or alternative sources of energy.

Nominating Leader transnational cooperation projects for an award:

• The  Leader transnational cooperation project can be submitted by Local Action Groups, Rural Network Units, or any other organisation that has identified a good LEADER TNC project.
• Each Leader transnational cooperation project can only be nominated for one category. If the Leader transnational cooperatipm project seems to be suitable for more than one category then please choose the category it fits best.
• Nominations, including the completed application forms (in English) and at least 5 photos (minimum 1000 Kb), should be sent via e-mail to: LeaderTNC @ maainfo.ee
• Each category has a separate application form which can be downloaded HERE
• Photos should be good enough quality to be reproduced in print and include a title, location, date and the name of the photographer.
• Photos should be sent separately via e-mail to: LeaderTNC @ maainfo.ee.
• If the photos are too big to send via e-mail then contact the organisers for additional download instructions.
• Please note that organisations including the Rural Network Units may use these photos free of charge in the publication of information on nominated projects, on the competition website, in the best practice databases and in presentations about the competition. Photos will be not used for commercial purposes.
  

The Leader transnational cooperation projects will be evaluated against the following criteria:

• Participants benefits - How have participating organisations and stakeholders benefited from the Leader transnational cooperation project. Consider benefits accrued both during the Leader transnational cooperation project and/or afterwards.
• Transnational cooperation and partnership - Were all partners involved equally in a strong partnership approach. What was the added value of the transnational elements. Did the Leader transnational cooperation project involve other stakeholders groups both during the project and/or afterwards.
• Level of innovation - What was innovative or new about the Leader transnational cooperation project? E.g. unique or new action, solution, result or effect.
• Impact on regional development - What are the positive effects of the Leader transnational cooperation project within the participating region(s).
• Added value – transferability and sustainability - What is the added value of the Leader transnational cooperation project? Can the results or methodology of the Leader transnational cooperation project be used by others? Will the Leader transnational cooperation project or actions started during the project continue after completion?

The process of the Leader transnational cooperation projects evaluation:

A two phase selection process is used: in early June 2013 the Selection Committee chosed four finalists in each category and the Evaluation Committee will then select the best from these finalists in September 2013.

The People's Choice Awards

Public voting for the People’s Choice Award will take place via the competition website, where information on 20 finalists will be available shortly after the Selection Committee has reached their decision on the finalists.

Follow the information and latest news posted on the competition website: www.maainfo.ee/LeaderTNC