Arranging Support for Collective Learning in Rural Areas of Germany

rural areas best be arranged?
In this chapter, we explore how public support for collective learning is arranged in two rural areas of Germany: Sankt Wendeler Land in the federal state of Saarland and the Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft in the Free State of Saxony . After introducing the case study areas, a framework to analyse and reflect on arrangements to support collective learning in rural areas will be presented. Then, the methods used for data collection and analysis will be described, and some background information on the organisation of support for collective learning in Germany will be provided. It will be shown how public support is operationalized and how beneficiaries evaluate the arranged support in the case study areas. Subsequently, differences in institutional arrangements to support collective learning in the respective case study areas will be discussed. It will be shown that in order to arrange public support for collective learning successfully, the operation of public support programmes needs to be delegated to agents embedded within the area. These agents need to dispose of access to wider networks of groups and networks within and outside the area. This way, they are able to include a wide range of development actors and connect them to the appropriate supporters. In this process, the roles of shared leadership is crucial (Horlings 2012). An arrangement that works well in one area can therefore not be used as a blueprint to make arrangements in another area.