Minha Terra Network, the Portuguese partner of the European Rural Parliament, that brings together all the 60 Rural Local Action Groups in Portugal, organised a national two day meeting that addressed issues related to LEADER/CLLD, one of the ERP themes under the ROAD project. The meeting, hosted by the LAG DUECEIRA, gathered 66 participants from 42 LAGs and was held 23rd to 24th September in the small town of Lousã, located in the centre of Portugal.

At the meeting several points were discussed, namely the state of play of the LEADER/ CLLD in Portugal in this current programming period; the preparation of the future ahead of 2020; and an updated list of subscribers of the Local Development Pact 2030 – a document of analysis and proposals endorsed and signed by more than 1500 stakeholders – local authorities, business, civil society organizations – such as farmers, businesses or cultural associations, etc.

Looking forward to the next programming period 2021-2027, Minha Terra shared the preliminary results of a survey conducted by the Portuguese LAGs which intended to establish
• their characterization;
• the financial allocation and thematic focus of their local development strategies;
• their operational process;
• their level of satisfaction regarding CLLD 2014-2020;
• their expectations for the future CLLD 2021-2027;
• and an identification of the relative priority of each SDG (Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda) according to the LEADER/ CLLD approach.

Moreover, the LAGs undertook a discussion about the future and the joint operational strategy for the next EU framework. In fact, they advocated an improvement of the operationalising process of the multi-fund CLLD, based on a better coordination between funds and national bodies in charge. Finally, the LAGs started to reflect on what can be done at local level to ensure LEADER being more effective.