The Swedish Board of Agriculture has decided on a start notice for Leader Gute regarding the program period 2023-2027. This means that the operations for the period are now fully underway – with a new website and graphic profile. The focus is currently on informing about project support for larger development projects. At the same time, there is support for mini-projects to apply for from the previous period.
The non-profit Gotland association Leader Gute has as its main task to distribute support to locally led development projects in Gotland's rural areas. The association also runs its own projects – currently ”We rural builders in Gotland.”.
During the previous program period 2016-2022, support was distributed to projects with over 100 different project owners.
The budget for 2023-2027 is 35 million SEK for the entire operation including the supports. The operations and supports during the period are governed by ”Local development strategy for Gotland” which has been developed in collaboration with many engaged actors in the non-profit, private, and public sectors on the island.
Two types of support
Leader Gute offers two different types of support:
- Project support for larger development projects
- Support for mini-projects for smaller but important initiatives
The larger project supports are usually between 200,000 and 700,000 kronor. The support places high demands on application and reporting. Therefore, we are now conducting information initiatives to explain what is required to apply for this support. On March 15, for example, we have an Open House where we concretely explain how the application is written in the Swedish Board of Agriculture's E-service, says Leader Gute's operations manager Ellen Lundkvist.
Support for mini-projects is divided into different themes. The supports are usually between 15,000 and 50,000 kronor. For this type of support, simpler applications and faster decisions apply than for the larger project supports.
Currently, there is an opportunity to apply for support for mini-projects from the previous period within:
- Renewable energy
- Develop your community center
- Discover your locality
- Feasibility study checks
- Competence development checks
Additional themes for support for mini-projects, for the new period, will be launched gradually.
Start notice and new website
– That we have now received formal start notice from the Swedish Board of Agriculture means that we can fully begin to work based on the new strategy, and handle the applications for support for the new period that will gradually start coming in, explains Ellen Lundkvist.
– We have now also launched our new graphic profile and our new website. The new website has the same address as the previous one: leadergute.se Here you can find information about our operations, the leader method, our new strategy, and how to apply for our supports. Here we also continuously report on our meetings and activities.