EStIF 3/18 is out, a special issue focusing on rural development. The article by Andrew Copus and Thomas Dax digs deep into the history of rural development, starting from the precedents of rural policy and the first stages of what then became EU Cohesion policy. Jean-Michel Courades and Pedro Brosei discuss how the implementation of the partnership principle has evolved over time, first in LEADER and then in CLLD, highlighting the important role of citizens’ participation in policymaking and implementation. Loris Servillo and Martijn De Bruijn take stock of the extent to which Member States have taken up CLLD, looking at the range of different combinations of ESI Funds and the diverse thematic orientation of CLLD Local Action Groups across the EU. Günter Salchner presents his research on how LEADER is managed by Local Action Groups. Finally, Ninetta Chaniotou and Zane Šime elaborate on smart specialisation in the Finnish Kainuu region, showing how a sparsely populated area can benefit from EU-funded transnational cooperation programmes to tap into the region’s unused innovation potential.

Alongside the special issue articles, this edition of EStIF also includes articles by Phedon Nicolaides, Elda Lautieri  and Militsa Yordanova discussing a broad range of wider ESIF-related themes.

View ESTIF 3/2018 table of contents here.