1. RDP

2. LEADER
Co. Sligo LEADER Partnership, on behalf of Sligo Local Community Development Committee, implementing the new LEADER programme for Co. Sligo
Development of the Local Development Strategy for the €7.655 million under LEADER Programme for Sligo for this period.

3. The new programme will operate across 5 broad themes:
Rural Economic Development / Enterprise Development and Job Creation
Social Inclusion through Building Community Capacity, Training and Animation
Rural Environment
Support for Food Producers
Cooperation Projects

4. Rural Economic Development / Enterprise Development and Job Creation
Support economic activity of sufficient mass to attract people to live and work in rural areas
To support rural job creation and job sustainability
Increase the percentage of holdings where the fixed assets of the farm are utilised in non-agricultural activity by a member of the farm household for economic gain

5. Rural Tourism and Recreation
To establish Sligo as the Adventure Capital of Ireland
Develop the Potential of Wild Atlantic Way
To support and develop rural tourism and recreation businesses -individually and collectively
To maximise the sustainable tourism potential of County Sligo through provision of necessary infrastructure and development of the countryside as a recreational resource for all.

6. Enterprise Development
To provide a comprehensive rural enterprise support service for business in the micro enterprise, small business and social enterprise sectors.
Examples:
Assistance to start-up enterprises
Expansion of existing enterprises
Development of innovative products and activities in sectors of potential e.g. Artisan Food, Creative Industries, Marine and Renewable Energy etc.

7. Adding value to local products e. g
Adding value to local products e.g. support for business networks, marketing, local branding initiatives.
Using local ICT capacity e.g. digital marketing or centralised admin
Actions to foster rural entrepreneurship e.g. Training, R&D etc
Selected investment in small rural enterprise space.

8. Broadband
To offer support to business, tourism and community groups to bring localised broadband services to rural areas
To develop initiatives to address access to broadband as a barrier to the growth of rural enterprise – e.g. Hubs and hotdesks

9. Rural Towns
To ensure rural towns are attractive places to invest in, visit and live in by supporting local communities to take ownership of local economic development.
To provide appropriate community and business supports to enhance the economic and social attractiveness of villages, small towns and the surrounding countryside.
Support the development of Rural Economic Development Zone (REDZ) projects by animating local communities and businesses to develop sustainable economic development plans for their functional areas.

10. Social Inclusion through Building Community Capacity, Training and Animation
Use bottom-up structures of LEADER methodology in rural communities.
Animation activities at group and individual level to encourage community involvement in a broad range of social and economic activities
Capacity building measures aimed at community and minority groups e.g. youth, women
Initiatives aimed at geographically disadvantaged communities or those lacking in sufficient mass to enhance cohesion and capacity to develop
Initiatives to animate specific interest or marginal groups to harness unique potential

11. Basic Services for hard to reach communities
To support the development of the physical and human resources of hard to reach communities
To identify and support the development of appropriate social, economic and cultural facilities and infrastructure to local communities, not otherwise available to them.

12. Rural Youth
To animate and build the capacity of rural youth to participate in their local communities and local decision making processes
To develop innovative initiatives to encourage entrepreneurship among rural youth
To develop appropriate training initiatives that meet the needs of the local labour market which can result in youth job creation

13. Rural Environment
To provide an integrated approach to the protection of the local heritage, complemented by a range of initiatives designed to develop the sustainable economic contribution of the natural, built, social and cultural heritage. E.g.
Alternative or renewable energy actions
Community environmental actions to protect and restore the amenity value of local water resources and high value nature areas
Integrated plans for the restoration and development of locally significant natural areas, features and areas of environmental significance.
Other environmental initiatives

14. Support for Food Producers
Support for artisan food producers, including a focus on collaborative proposals aimed at production quality and market issues.
Support for Regional product development, including a focus on marketing of distinctive local food stuffs.
Marketing and processing support for strategically identified sectors.

15. Cooperation Projects
To add value to objectives already outlined, and to further develop the knowledge-base in rural areas, cooperation projects will be developed along strategically identifies sectors of potential:
To pool the know-how and/or human and financial resources dispersed across each of the territories concerned.
To explore inter regional networking, clustering and branding potential

16. Thank You