Engaging rural communities: The uses of online communication tools in Local Action Groups’ activity

Abstract

Local Action Groups (LAGs) play an important role in the development of rural territories, by engaging communities in the creation of local identity. The LAGs have the great advantage of being in direct contact with the population, of understanding the needs of the local communities through direct interaction and involvement. They have the freedom to collaborate with public institutions, private partners, and local actors, to identify ideas and solutions that lead to the development of the final beneficiary, the rural area. By their nature, the LAGs aim at building a tight community, by being open to efficient communication. Their strategies must consider the characteristics of the target audience and their needs. The development of various online communication tools allows efficient and fruitful interaction if the communicators have the know-how, resources, and motivation. This paper aims at analyzing how the LAGs organize their public communication, both through websites and social media. A content analysis was applied to 65 LAGs, covering the Center and North-West Romanian Development Regions, and to 27 Facebook pages, covering the 2017-2022 timeframe. The results show that LAGs need a significant enhancement in the way they communicate, in order to unite the community around them.

Keywords

• lag
• online communication
• leader
• rural development
• community-led local development
• eu.