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The object of the considerations taken up in the article is the operation of local action groups in Poland, which were established in rural areas under the Leader approach. Their functioning is an expression of a specific EU policy approach to local development with the active participation of local communities. As part of local action groups, cooperation between the social, economic and public sectors is undertaken, which is an innovative approach in the development policy towards rural areas in Poland. The partners of local action groups using local development strategies and financial instruments achieve development goals in designated areas. The aim of the article is to determine the significance of actions undertaken by local action groups (LAGs) in the 2007-2013 (2015) perspective for the socio-economic development of the area in which they operate. Detailed goals include: (1) to determine the amount of public financial resources aimed at supporting the LAGs activity and indicating their regional differentiation; (2) to indicate what areas of life in the social and economic sphere were supported by LAGs; (3) to determine the effects of LAGs' activities on rural development in the opinion of residents. The report uses the data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (31 Dec 2015) and findings from the RDP 2007- 2013 evaluation study from 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural space in the Baltic Sea East Coast States - Latvia, Lithuania and Poland - comprises a significant part of the territories of these states. It occupies more than half of each state's territory and employs more than a third of labour market participants. For these reasons, the future prospects of the rural space in each of the states is an important issue in designing their smart growth strategies. Smart growth is determined not only by objective circumstances but also by local authorities, the activity of various public organisations and the readiness of residents to act under the guidance of the mentioned formations. The present research focuses on these formations, which may be assumed to be performance agents, and on their influence on smart growth and the viability of rural areas. The research employed the survey method - a survey of experts was conducted (n=171 in Latvia; n=163 in Lithuania; n=111 in Poland, carried out during 2016) to assess each performance agent's contribution to smart growth. Summarising the expert opinions allows performing a comprehensive comparison in terms of similarities and differences in evaluating each agent's performance in each country surveyed and defining primary objectives to be achieved in order to improve the smart growth process for each performance agent under the particular conditions of their country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]