Partners

The Scottish Borders LEADER Local Action Group

The LEADER Programme Local Action Group (LAG) is the overall structure which governs the Scottish Borders LEADER Programme. In the Scottish Borders the LAG consists of two groups, the Monitoring Group and the Decision Making Group.

The ‘A Working Countryside’ (AWC) Theme Team is an integrated part of the Scottish Borders New Ways Community Planning Partnership. The ‘A Working Countryside’ Theme Team acts as Monitoring Group for the LEADER Programme.

AWC, as the LEADER ‘Monitoring Group’, takes overall responsibility for the delivery of LEADER in the Scottish Borders. This includes strategic direction and programme level monitoring.

LEADER updates and discussion will be a regular part of the AWC meeting agenda. The Monitoring Group will identify actions and programme changes that will be implemented by the DMG and the Secretariat. AWC currently meets every six weeks.

The Monitoring Group pays particular attention to the financial and output progress of the Programme.  They will recommend actions in light of the monitoring information they receive.  The Chair of AWC is the chair of the Monitoring Group. 

The members of ‘A Working Countryside’ Theme Team are as follows:

• Berwickshire Community Councils’ Forum
• Borders College
• Borders Forest Trust
• Borders Foundation for Rural Sustainability
• Borders Machinery Ring
• Buccleuch Estates
• Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group
• Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS)
• NFU Scotland (NFUS)
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
• Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (Borders Federation)
• Scottish Borders Access Forum
• Scottish Borders Community Councils’ Network (SBCCN)
• Scottish Borders Council (SBC)
• Scottish Borders Environment Partnership (SBEP)
• Scottish Enterprise (SE)
• Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
• Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID)
• Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH)
• Scottish Rural Property and Business Association (SRPBA)
• Southern Uplands Partnership (SUP)
• The Bridge (Scottish Borders Community Development Company)
• Tweed Forum
• VisitScotland - Borders
• Youth Borders (Borders Voluntary Youth Work Forum & Borders Association of Youth Groups)

Day to day delivery and decision making will be undertaken by the LEADER ‘Decision Making Group’ (DMG). The DMG is a sub-group of 15 ‘A Working Countryside’ members. Partner representation on the DMG exceeds the requirement for at least 50% of its constituents to be drawn from non public-sector partners.

The DMG undertakes the key day-to-day policy and decision making roles, with appropriate strategic guidance from the Monitoring Group (AWC). It acts as a focus for LEADER and one of its key aims will be to ensure integration of ideas and projects coming forward for LEADER funding.

The DMG assesses project applications against an agreed and publicly available scoring system. The Group also seeks to add value to projects where possible by commenting on project ideas at an early stage, and through discussion of each application. The Group is supported by the Secretariat and a LEADER Coordinator.

The DMG monitors the financial and output progress of the Programme and ensure that progress is regularly reported to the Monitoring Group. The Chair of the DMG attends the Monitoring Group to report on progress and highlight policy and procedural issues.