The process of facilitation aims to solve community problems by encouraging the exploitation of skills through different tools implemented by the facilitator. Facilitation has been analysed in the context of advanced and established groups with well-defined objectives, but not at the start of these groups. This article analyses the facilitation process carried out by the Institute of Community Development over 25 years with four work groups in rural areas of Cuenca, Spain. The leadership role taken on by the facilitator is crucial when it comes to identifying and managing the initial efforts required to start the group work. During the facilitation process, training and information tools are essential. It is also important to see a suitable transfer of roles between the facilitator and the stakeholders as they acquire new skills. This transfer is crucial for the continuity of the group and can cause difficulties if it does not happen.

The agrifood industry contributes to sustaining the population and the economic growth in rural areas of Spain. Innovation in the agrifood sector has therefore become a necessity as a means of improving the competitiveness of companies and the territory, thus promoting sustainable rural development in areas currently characterised by social issues such as depopulation. Meeting this need requires the generation of specific knowledge on innovation in the rural agrifood industry to strategically steer the business management of innovation. This study aims to contribute to further improving the competitiveness of the agrifood industry through the interrelation of critical innovation factors in small and medium-sized agrifood enterprises, thus shedding light on the innovation environment of differentiated local products in depopulated rural regions. The qualitative Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) methodology was used with the participation of entrepreneurs and experts from the sector. The ISM was applied to a case study in Alcarria Conquense, a Spanish region that embodies the current problems of many rural territories. The results show four factors (cooperation, managerial skills, absorptive capacity, and market orientation) are binding variables with a high power of influence and dependence, and a fifth factor, funding, is the most dependent on the others. The work contributes to the literature by revealing the needs and opportunities for a potential strategic planning of rural development that can positively influence the problems of the region through innovation management in this industry.

La gobernanza territorial es una práctica innovadora de coordinación y gestión que busca organizar las interacciones múltiples que convergen en un territorio. En Europa esta noción ha sido incorporada a los programas de desarrollo rural diseñados y ejecutados bajo los principios de la metodología LEADER. El presente trabajo se propone como objetivo analizar la contribución de estos programas a la gobernanza territorial de la Alcarria Conquense, España. Se pretende con ello determinar cómo este instrumento de política pública ha incentivado la participación, la cooperación, la construcción de redes y el fortalecimiento de la identidad en contextos caracterizados por el declive económico y demográfico.

LEADER development programs have a primary objective of enhancing the quality of life. However, their evaluation has been limited due to the extensive time required for analysis. This report investigates the contribution of the LEADER approach to improving the quality of life through a thirty-year case study in the Alcarria Conquense region of Spain (1991-2021). Funding for projects focused on rural heritage, infrastructure, and essential services has played a pivotal role in creating conditions for a prosperous life in the region. Nonetheless, limitations have emerged, including deepening territorial imbalances, a heavy reliance on local government entities, and potential drawbacks to the innovation and management capacity of other economic and social actors. While LEADER offer a valuable tool for policymakers seeking to enhance rural communities' quality of life, further analysis is necessary to refine their implementation and maximize their overall impact.

La dinamización social – como proceso para suscitar grupos funcionales de ciudadanos capaces de ser responsables de su propio progreso –, es imprescindible en el desarrollo comunitario. En la actualidad, este proceso presenta algunos interrogantes sobre las relaciones entre las instituciones públicas y las asociaciones locales, la materialización de dicho proceso en territorios con baja densidad de población y el papel de las asociaciones para el desarrollo. En esta aportación se abordan dichas cuestiones desde la labor realizada por la Asociación Instituto de Desarrollo Comunitario de Cuenca en las zonas rurales de esta provincia de España durante 25 años. Esta experiencia aporta algunas respuestas desde una visión de largo plazo, – escasa en este tipo de investigaciones – y desde la dinamización social basada en la participación de la población y la asistencia técnica. De este modo se generan partenariados duraderos capaces de evolucionar por sí mismos, que fomentan el liderazgo de la comunidad en el proceso de desarrollo.

Community development must be accompanied by a social involvement process which creates functional groups of citizens capable of taking responsibility for their own development. It is important that this process promotes a structure for all population groups and provides the appropriate institutional and technical support. The present paper addresses these issues from a methodological approach based on over 25 years of experience by the Institute of Community Development of Cuenca in revitalizing rural areas of the Spanish province of Cuenca. The long-term perspective of this experience provides some keys which can be used to successfully support the process of social involvement in rural areas.