LEADER FUNDING IN ROMANIA - COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TWO PROGRAMMING PERIODS.

Since its accession to the European Union, Romania has been working to strengthen its support for area-based approaches in local development, including the implementation of the LEADER approach. This has been made possible through increased financial support and the establishment of Local Action Groups (LAGs) throughout the country. The growing number of LAGs in Romania indicates an increasing recognition of the importance of bottomup approaches and local empowerment. LAGs serve as platforms for collaboration and coordination among various stakeholders, including local authorities, civil society organizations, and businesses. They enable communities to take ownership of their development processes and design strategies that are tailored to their specific contexts. This paper presents a comparative analysis of LEADER programme implementation in Romania in two programming periods (2007 - 2013 and 2014 - 2020), from the point of view of territorial distribution of funds, type of projects and beneficiaries, using choropleth maps with data at NUTS3 and LAU2 level. The results of the analysis show a modification of the behaviour of public and private beneficiaries, willing to involve their own funds in the realization of their projects, and the LAGs maturity in financing innovative projects and projects that develop existing businesses. The article proposes future research of LEADER impact at national and regional levels from the social return perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]