the costs of preparatory support consisting of capacity building, training and networking with a view to preparing and implementing a community-led local development strategy.

Such costs may include one or more of the following elements:

1. (i)

   training actions for local stakeholders;

2. (ii)

   studies of the area concerned;

3. (iii)

   costs related to the design of the community-led local development strategy, including consultancy costs and costs for actions related to consultations of stakeholders for the purposes of preparing the strategy;

4. (iv)

   administrative costs (operating and personnel costs) of an organisation that applies for preparatory support during the preparation phase;

5. (v)

   support for small pilot projects.

Such preparatory support shall be eligible regardless of whether the community-led local development strategy designed by the local action group benefitting from the support is selected for funding by the selection committee set up under Article 33(3).

implementation of operations under the community-led local development strategy;

preparation and implementation of the local action group's cooperation activities;

running costs linked to the management of the implementation of the community-led local development strategy consisting of operating costs, personnel costs, training cost, costs linked to public relations, financial costs as well as the costs linked to monitoring and evaluation of that strategy as referred to in point (g) of Article 34(3);

animation of the community-led local development strategy in order to facilitate exchange between stakeholders to provide information and to promote the strategy and to support potential beneficiaries with a view to developing operations and preparing applications.