From Individual Initiatives to Networked Actions: Networking as a Solution for Sustaining Rural Community Activities in Lithuania

Abstract

Despite long-standing EU support for regional development and rural revitalisation, many rural community initiatives struggle to sustain their activities once project-based funding ends. While instruments such as the LEADER programme have been effective in mobilising local actors, building capacity, and initiating community-led projects, they have been less successful in ensuring long-term continuity and coordination of supported initiatives. This paper examines networking as a means to overcome fragmentation and ensure the continuity of rural community activities that contribute to local economic development. The analysis combines a review of European rural policy developments since 2000 with an in-depth case study from Lithuania. The case focuses on the evolution of the public organisation Salty Winds , which emerged from LEADER-supported initiatives in 2014, initiated by the Druskininkai Local Action Group and later transitioned into a network-oriented organisation. This research was conducted within the framework of ESIRA (Enhancing Social Innovation in Rural Areas), a Horizon Europe project funded by the European Union, which supported living-lab collaboration in the study region. Using a design thinking approach as the main analytical framework, the paper examines how rural actors reframed their challenges, developed new organisational arrangements, and strengthened cooperation among community groups, businesses, and public authorities. The findings demonstrate that networking can enhance the sustainability of rural community initiatives by improving coordination, enabling joint marketing and branding, and embedding initiatives within broader governance structures. The paper contributes to debates on post-LEADER rural development by highlighting the importance of network-based governance and adaptive innovation tools for sustaining local economic activities in rural regions.