Principles
Principles promoted by the Croatian Rural Development
Network are based on good European practice and LEADER
approach:
- Sustainable rural
development - based on preservation and development
of the human, environmental, social and productive capital.
- The Area-based
approach - rural areas are similar, yet each has
its own specifics and profile. Those differences should be taken
into account in development planning, because they are the
foundations for the quality development of each area.
- Activating communities lagging
behind in the development processes - some
communities need support to be able to join the development
processes. We believe that such communities should not be left
aside to the flow of time, but should be recognized and special
attention should be given to qualify them for the timely
integration into these processes.
- Bottom-up approach
- it is not possible to achieve any kind of development
without public involvement. Therefore, it is necessary to involve
key stakeholders in local communities, to achieve the best possible
solutions through the affluence of ideas
- Development of the local
partnership in approaches and activities - nowadays
the fragmented initiatives are most often doomed to fail; they have
no power, conviction, or trust. Therefore, nurturing and furthering
the partnership relations and the culture of coordination are of
the utmost importance.
- Networking and
coordination - connecting, acting synergic in
development processes, exchanging knowledge and experience are of
key importance in today's modern Europe and in Croatia.
- Innovations -
tradition is unquestionably the basis of sustainable rural
development, but innovations are essential in presentation of
traditional values in new competitive ways.
- Integrated multisectoral
approach - lack of links between sectors often
causes problems in the development. Horizontal cross-sector
networking, as well as vertical networking of local, regional and
national institutions, is especially important in the realisation
of sustainable rural development.
- Local financing and managing
projects - it is of utmost importance for the
activities on the local level to be financed from the local
budgets. Knowing the situation in Croatia, we are aware that it is
not simple, but even a small contribution from local budget would
be a confirmation of credibility and importance of local
projects.