FLAG Factsheet
The area covers the municipalities of Alcácer do Sal, Grândola, Sines, Santiago do Cacém, Odemira. In economic terms, the FLAG area is characterised as having a low business density, with agriculture and tourism being the most important sectors. A restructuring of the local economy is, therefore, an essential element of any local development strategy.
The main challenges facing the area are socio-economic, and concern:
Six regions: one coastal and five inland (with fishing in the reservoirs of Campilhas, Vale do Gaio and Santa Clara)
The strategic goal of the FLAG is to "realise the potential of local resources and promote activities linked to the sea and water resources." From a territorial development and cooperation perspective, the main elements of the strategy will be considered in a cross-cutting way. These include:
The FLAG strategy has four main strands, which focus on creating conditions to promote tourism, entrepreneurship, innovation and the revitalisation of the fisheries sector.
National
Planned investments under the EMFF will focus on:
Planned investments under the ESF will focus on:
The FLAG will publish its first call for projects following publication of the relevant national legislation.
One of the main objectives of the FLAG is to encourage local people and organisations to contribute to the development of the area and improve its visibility by engaging in a “territorial marketing” process. Transnational cooperation will play an important part in this and will also provide an opportunity for the FLAG to meet, discuss and learn new ways of working, promoting the area and improving skills.
The Local Development Agency, ADL, has already developed cooperation projects and, up to the end of 2015, hosted visits from FLAGs from other countries interested in learning from the projects carried out in Alentejo Litoral.
The thematic areas of cooperation are already agreed but the specific projects and the budget are not yet defined.
The themes under which the FLAG aims to develop national and transnational cooperation projects are:
ADL manages both the FLAG (coastal CLLD) and LAG (rural CLLD); ADL is also a Leader group. The Leader authorities cooperate and work within the framework of an interregional strategy.
ADL is the intermediate body for rural CLLD and is the managing partner for coastal CLLD. Other members of ADL are also members of the partnership that makes up the FLAG.
The coastal intervention area is part of the intervention area for rural CLLD. The strategies have aspects in common. Cooperation projects also exist.