Our vision
We make our countryside more sustainable, attractive, and vibrant.
Does your project fit with us?
To be granted support from Leader Gästrikebygden your project idea needs to match at least one of our two goals and fit within one of our three focus areas presented below.
Sustainable and attractive living environments
The goal of attractive living environments is about both the place and the people who live, work, and thrive in the area. The place should be accessible, sustainable, and welcoming for residents of all ages. Residents should feel that they have the conditions to live a good life and the opportunity to develop their place together. The project must have environmental, social, and economic sustainability to achieve the goal.
Sustainable local economy
The goal of a sustainable local economy is about our place needing more sustainable and good business ideas. We need a greater variety of goods and services that create more jobs. To live, work, and thrive in the countryside, there must be opportunities for self-sufficiency. The transformation we see in society, with a focus on digitalization and sustainability, creates new needs and opportunities.
Strengthen the place!
The focus area is about developing the place where we live, work, and thrive. This can involve projects that create new meeting places, new or more accessible nature and cultural environments, or projects that contribute to more environmental and climate initiatives. It can also involve creating better access to services and infrastructure or improving the rotation in the housing market.
Strengthen the people!
The focus area is about strengthening those who live, work, and thrive in the area. Here we focus on the abilities and drive of people who make a difference and create hope for the future. This can involve projects that develop leisure and cultural activities, projects that encourage more people to engage in community life, or projects that develop inclusive networks and collaborations.
Strengthen entrepreneurship!
The focus area is about strengthening the conditions for starting and developing business activities. This can involve projects that develop and test new business ideas or projects that focus on innovation and developing new methods. It can be projects that contribute to a greater variety of goods and services, projects that offer solutions for recruitment, or projects that develop knowledge for more sustainable entrepreneurship.
Basic conditions and selection criteria
For a fair assessment of your application, we have specific selection criteria that we consider. Your project must always meet our basic conditions. If the project complies with the basic conditions, our board will score it according to our selection criteria. Below you will find a summarized version of our basic conditions and selection criteria. Complete scoring template with justification 2023 – 2027 can be found here.
Basic conditions:
- The project is consistent with the goals and focus areas in our development strategy
- The project is consistent with the overarching principles for our development strategy
- The project application has a logical thread that runs through the project's purpose, goals, activities, and budget
- The project has implementation capacity
Our five selection criteria that we look at when assessing your application:
Collaboration
The project should be carried out in collaboration with other actors. We welcome collaboration between different sectors, meaning that the private, public, and non-profit sectors work together.
Innovation
The project should be innovative. It can involve new activities, new meeting places, new networks, or new products. It can also involve something proven that is used by a new target group or in a new context.
Sustainable development
The project relates to all three dimensions of sustainable development:
Social sustainability, economic sustainability, and ecological sustainability.
Local anchoring
The project has identified a need for the initiative and there should be support for the project in the local area. We would like to see a bottom-up perspective, meaning that the idea and initiative come from those affected by the project.
Match our strategy
The project should be linked to an area of intervention, contribute to at least one goal and one indicator in our strategy. It should be clear how the outcome will be measured before the final report. We also want to see a plan for how the project results will be managed after the final report.
Our geography
To apply for support from us, you need to belong to our leader area, which consists of the municipalities:
- Gävle (Furuvik-Säljsjön, Forsbacka-Överhärde, Valbo, Hagaström-Lexe, Hille-Åbyggeby, Björke-Norrlandet, Bergby-Norrsundet) with the exception of Hedesunda.
- Sandviken (Sandviken's southern and northern surroundings, Årsunda, Storvik, Kungsgården, Järbo) with the exception of Österfärnebo.
- Hofors and Ockelbo
As we grant support for rural development, the central parts of Sandviken and Gävle are also excluded.
