La social network analysis come strumento di valutazione delle politiche di sviluppo locale: un’applicazione nell’ambito di LEADER 2014-2022

According to the Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l’Economie Rurale (LEADER) approach, Local Action Groups (LAGs) empower the creation of social capital by enabling social relations among local actors. Re- cent studies have investigated the socio-economic aspects driving this phe- nomenon, but there is a lack of research on the internal dynamics occurring within LAGs. This study aims to investigate this aspect by focusing on an Italian LAG as case study, and using Social Network Analysis to understand how LAG’s internal communication dynamics relate to the activities imple- mented on the territory. Our results show that the LAG operates as an inter- mediary between municipalities and local associations, but it is not able to foster direct relationships between these actors; moreover, the LAG is not able to make the relational elements prevailing over the socio-economic and geographical aspects of the territory.