Nemus collaborated with the European Association for Information on Local Development (Belgium) in the development of a methodological guide for the impact assessment of the LEADER initiative approach and of the measures to enhance life quality in rural areas.
The LEADER approach corresponds to one of the European Union’s rural development policy axes and allows local stakeholders to take advantage of local endogenous development potential through local partnerships and decentralized decision procedures.
From Nemus participation in the final document, the formalization of the four life quality dimensions in rural areas stands out – social and cultural capital and local services, rural environment, rural economy, governance – and also the definition of indicators to assess the impact of rural development policies, with special incidence in environmental and socioeconomic questions.
Following the collaboration, Nemus developed in 2012 a synthesis of the interim assessment of the 2007-2013 rural development programs for the Austrian Institute for Spatial Planning, with the ultimate recipient being the European Commission – DG AGRI.