Cross-sectoral cooperation for rural development in old and new EU member states: a comparative case study of English and Polish area-based partnerships

The research is part of project 2 P06R 047 29 founded by the Polish Ministry of Education funds on sciences in years 2005-2008

This paper comprises a comparative case study of rural partnerships in the United Kingdom and in Poland. The research is based on a questionnaire survey of representative key personnel (leaders) of partnerships and a background assessment of project and partnership documentation. The main differences and similarities of partnership features are described with conclusions as to possible implementation strategies for cross-sectoral cooperation for local development in rural areas in new European Union member states.