In general, the LEADER programme has had a positive impact, although it has also negative aspects. In this paper, we analyse the role of the three main stakeholders (public sector, private sector and third sector) within the LEADER local action groups (LAGs) in the decision-making process and final execution of the projects, to discover whether there is any relation between those taking the decisions and those carrying out the projects, according to the degree of rurality of the different areas. Our primary source was the files for all the successfully implemented LEADER projects in Andalusia between 2007 and 2015. Relevant findings are: although the public sector plays a leading role in the LAGs and in the decision-making process, most of the projects, as measured by total investment, are carried out by the private sector; the degree of rurality is an important factor, in that private sector investors tend to invest in peri-urban spaces, while public bodies, and especially local councils, invest in remote rural areas. The LAGs play a strategic role, in terms of making up for the almost negligible input from the third sector.

How are the problems of depopulation being faced by the Local Action Groups (LAGs) and the LEADER approach? What kinds of proposals are being pointed out to tackle young people’s exodus, the economic depression, the physical and virtual distances, and the marginality from the political and economic centers by these local public-private partnerships to the areas having the more worrying situations? Andalusia, a southern region of Spain, has many municipalities with these severe devepopulation problems. According to this aim, the Local Development Strategies documents (LDSs) of the LAGs for 2015–2020, have been reviewed. The predominance of the top-down approach has limited the attention given to face the rural depopulation. It is relevant to note, as well, the reduced presence of specific objectives and projects to combat depopulation in these deep rural areas. The last finding is that these municipalities with extreme depopulation have been left aside; as no solution placed. Definitely, as empty areas to promote rural development. Depopulation concept and depopulation areas have been forgotten for neoendogenous rural development practices.

Tradicionalmente las investigaciones sobre los Programas de Desarrollo Rural han abordado su efectividad y sus repercusiones sociales y territoriales centradas en los proyectos ejecutados, sin abordar el estudio de aquellos que no lo fueron –denominados por nosotros como fallidos– y, por tanto, sin analizar sus causas, tipologías, promotores o distribución territorial, perdiéndose así una excelente oportunidad de aprender de los motivos por lo que no se ejecutaron con su subvención. El presente trabajo realiza un análisis de los proyectos del periodo 2002–2008 en Andalucía que, habiendo sido aprobados y en los que se ha firmado el correspondiente convenio de ejecución, no se llegaron a realizar a su amparo. La investigación realizada constituye un acercamiento a estos Programas desde una óptica diferente y novedosa, en la que se aborda su distribución espacial, el tipo de promotor, su tipología, los niveles de inversión frustrados y las causas que motivaron su abandono. Para ello, se ha trabajado a dos escalas diferentes, la municipal y la de cada uno de los territorios de los Grupos de Acción Local para toda Andalucía en base a los datos por expedientes aportados por la Junta de Andalucía.

Rural Europe today cannot be understood without considering the impact of the EU’s Liaisons Entre Actions de Developpement de l’Economie Rurale (LEADER) rural development programme. Although in general it has had a positive impact, research has also revealed spatial and social disparities in the distribution of funds. Our primary source was the files for all the LEADER projects processed in Andalusia between 2007 and 2015. In addition to successfully executed projects, we also focused on “unfunded” projects, those in which, although promoters had initiated the application procedure, a grant was never ultimately obtained. Project failure must be studied so as to avoid biased findings. We then classified these projects within the different types of rural area and analysed the behaviour of the different promoters in these areas. Relevant findings include: project success or failure varies according to the different types of rural area, as does the behaviour of the different promoters; the degree of rurality can hinder project success; young and female entrepreneurs were more likely to fail; the type of promoter is strongly influenced by the distance to cities in that companies and Individual Entrepreneurs tend to invest in periurban spaces, while public sector promoters such as Local Councils are more prominent in remote rural areas.

Civil society plays an essential role in the development of our rural areas. In spite of this, little research has been conducted on the role of non-profit organizations, often referred to in general terms as the third sector, within the framework of the LEADER program for rural development, especially in such a large geographical area as Andalusia, the study area of this research. The diversity of the groups that make up the “Others” group of rural development stakeholders is one of its most important characteristics. Over the course of the study period (2000–2015), these organizations have played a very significant role in Andalusia in both quantitative and qualitative terms. In order to find out more about the diversity of third sector organizations and to quantify and evaluate their importance, we carried out a detailed analysis of all the LEADER projects commenced in Andalusia between 2000 and 2015. The quantitative and quantitative results obtained highlight the diversity of these projects and how widely their presence varied from one type of rural area to the next. Our research reopens the debate about the growing role played by non-profit organizations in developed societies at a global level and within LEADER in particular.

LEADER es una de las actuaciones más relevantes en materia de desarrollo rural puesta en marcha por la Unión Europea. Sus repercusiones socioeconómicas, lastradas por su exiguo presupuesto, han sido poco analizadas a escala municipal y para un territorio amplio. Abordamos su cuantificación a través de la inversión y tipo de empleo generado, según promotor, ámbito espacial y perfil de los beneficiados, en los 6225 proyectos ejecutados en Andalucía entre los años 2007–2015. Se constata tanto el desigual comportamiento de los diferentes actores según territorios como el menor empleo generado y, dentro de él, creado, respecto del periodo anterior 2000–2006. Son las Sociedades Mercantiles, especialmente las Limitadas, las que más empleo generan. Estas últimas, junto a las personas físicas, son las que más apuestan por la creación de empleo nuevo como forma de autoempleo frente a la crisis, ocupado por jóvenes y mujeres, mayoritariamente. Mientras las primeras benefician sobre todo al colectivo femenino y tienden a concentrarse en las áreas más dinámicas, las segundas adquieren relevancia en el mundo rural. Tanto las asociaciones, por la absoluta presencia de la mujer en ellas, como las Sociedades Cooperativas, por su fuerte implantación territorial y su relación con el sector agrario, juegan un papel relevante.