Networking / Transnational Cooperation

CARD has made significant progress in the area of transnational cooperation, or ACTION 2. Strong partnerships have been formed with other areas and other LEADER+ groups to deliver both successful and innovative projects.

Tourism Development Programme: E-volve Your Business

Linkages developed with South West Mayo and Lomond & Rural Stirling LEADER+ groups resulted in the design and delivery of an e-commerce training programme aimed at small rural tourism businesses across the three areas.

In this project, training and mentoring enabled the participants to assess the quality of the I.T. products and services already in place and to develop their skills to improve and exploit these. This was ideally delivered on a transnational basis in order to enhance the learning by exposure to best practice from the three areas.

The core components of the training were:

• How E-Business works for the Tourism Sector
• Domain name registration and website hosting
• Best practice in tourism website design and marketing
• Search engine marketing – Introductory
• E-business marketing – Intermediate
• Co-operation opportunities

Workshop options were also available on the following:

• Introduction to the internet and on-line opportunities
• Updating your website using Macromedia Contribute
• Digital Photography
• Website statistics

The programme is now complete and a launch took place in Mayo in November 06. One of the highlights of the programme was the production of a Best Practice Guide which highlighted the achievements made and this is now available to disseminate the knowledge gained from the programme.

» Click here to downloaded 'A handy little guide to E-tourism'

Women’s Development Programme – Business Coaching

CARD has also delivered a successful Women’s Development Programme with Rural Down LEADER+. This allowed 15 women to undertake a Diploma in Personal and Executive Coaching accredited by the European Coaching Institute.

An intensive business coaching course was given to 15 women who were recruited from the two participating LEADER+ areas. The training course was delivered between September – December 2005 and aimed to develop entrepreneurial and enterprise development activities for women. The course encouraged women to increase their own skills and business potential, and also help other businesses located in their rural areas.

Women provided local debriefing sessions in their rural areas on the training that they had received. The idea of this was to enhance the women’s own development and also improve the quality of life for other women living in LEADER+ areas. The project also indirectly assisted other LEADER+ target groups such as young people and farmers/farm families.

After completing the training course, participants were presented with a certified qualification. A graduation ceremony took place in December 2005 and the women received diplomas in “Personal and Executive Coaching for Women in Business” accredited by the European Coaching Institute.

Since graduating, the recruited women have been practicing their coaching skills and have received ongoing mentoring and support from Executive Coaching. They are now examining their own business and skills to see how coaching can help them to expand or diversify their business activities.

Strong networks have formed between women in the rural areas; they meet regularly to discuss business issues as well as exchanging knowledge and expertise. The group are now looking at ways to disseminate the knowledge gained through their training to help other business women in their local areas.

Reducing Risks / Cutting Costs

The final ACTION 2 project involves all of the 12 LEADER Groups in N. Ireland and is entitled ‘Reducing Risks / Cutting Costs’. This programme will look at the pertinent issue of insurance for micro-businesses and involve around 15 businesses from each LAG area – a total of 180 small businesses; hence the widespread impact should be significant.

This project will carry out research aimed at reducing risks and cutting costs for small businesses by developing a tool that will assist these businesses to implement good health and safety practices and which will be recognised by the insurance industry.

Currently the project has moved to the operational phase with all of the initial research now complete. We look forward to seeing the benefits which this programme will bring to small rural businesses.