Some of the major ones are:

European Regional Development Fund

The Yorkshire and Humber European Regional Development Fund Programme for 2007-2013 was approved by the European Commission on 7 December 2007. The ERDF programme in Yorkshire and the Humber is directed through Yorkshire Forward. Three of the programme's strategy priorities apply to the whole region:

• Stimulating and supporting successful enterprise;
• Promoting innovation and research and development; and
• Developing sustainable communities.

Rural Development Programme for England

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) focuses on three themes. These are:

• Improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector;
• Improving the environment and the countryside; and
• Improving the quality of life in rural areas, and encouraging diversification of the rural economy.

Yorkshire Forward is responsible for delivery of RDPE funds in the Yorkshire and Humber region, including the following programmes:

• LEADER - LEADER empowers local communities to get involved in improving the places where they live. The programme focuses on basic services, culture and heritage, village development, and renewal;
• The Rural Enterprise Investment Programme (REIP) - REIP offers funding to help rural businesses start up or expand. Minimum grants of £25,000 are available;
• The Rural Business Support Programme (RBSP) - RBSP aims to encourage the start up and diversification of economic activity in key rural sectors;
• LandSkills - LandSkills helps to develop the specialist skills essential to the development of the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors; and
• The Farm Resource Efficiency Programme (FREP) - FREP is a small capital-grants programme which helps farmers introduce new technology to promote efficiency in energy, manure management and water resource management.

European Social Fund (ESF)

Successes within North Yorkshire have been achieved by tapping into financial resource of the England wide European Social Fund (ESF) programme 2007-2013. ESF supports the Lisbon Agenda for growth and jobs and is supporting domestic training and skills programmes. The ESF programme in England focuses on two priorities:

• Priority one: Extending employment opportunities (delivered by Job Centre Plus); and
• Priority two: Developing a skilled and adaptable workforce (delivered by the Skills Funding Agency).

North Yorkshire has ESF programmes covering skills for jobs and support for young people classified as 'not in education, employment or training' (NEET). Further ESF community grants have been available to support training and skilling capability within the North Yorkshire voluntary and community sector.

Useful downloads The European Regional Development Fund [1Mb] [pdf] An introductory guide to the European Regional Development Fund.   Related Pages Broadband in North Yorkshire Business advice Business grants Business plans - advice Local economy - development Weblinks Please note: All external websites open in a new browser window and NYCC is not responsible for the content of external websites. Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Further information on the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) 2007-2013 from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The European Union portal The European Union portal linking to all EU activities. Contacts Economic development unit economic.development@northyork... Tel: 01609 532681 Fax: 01609 532022 Full details for Economic development unit