The aim of the study is to identify and describe community development approaches particularly emphasizing community-led local development as it dominates in the European Union as part of the rural development policy. The research is based on the literature review on community development approaches and community involvement in rural development. The most frequently used approaches are the following: community-led local development, community-led development, community driven development, community capacity building asset-based community development, and community economic development. The author concludes that the involvement of communities in development processes is promoted through specific programs implemented by policy makers and initiatives by communities and non-governmental organizations. Community involvement in development is influenced by many factors, such as democratic traditions and societal experience, the distribution of power and the exchange of knowledge between the social agents involved in development processes, the availability of resources and the skills to use them. Community projects are another way in which local agents can participate in improving the quality of life and solving local problems.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the information literacy of people as essential competencies required for the generation of social capital and use of social capital in sharing and obtaining information, which in its turn, is considered to be an important resource in the community’s development. The paper analyses the terms: social capital, information literacy and their mutual influence, as well as describes the research where informational literacy of the population of Latvia, its levels and the determined groups of knowledge and skills, which need to be improved in order to contribute to the generation and use of the social capital, through various methods (population surveys, focus group discussions, information literacy knowledge assessment questionnaires and performing practical tasks) were assessed. The research is based on the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Competency Matrix and UNESCO MIL Assessment Framework. The main conclusions of research are the following: information literacy is an important competence for developing social capital; but based on the completed research there are skills of information literacy – processing of information, critical assessment of information resources, legally correct use of information sources, as well as effective use of information technologies – which should be improved. The research was conducted within the framework of the European Social Fund project ‘Development of Innovative Diagnostic Instruments for Regional Growth’ (No.2013/0057/1DP/1.1.1.2.0/13/APIA/VIAA/065).

The article presents the findings of research aiming to discover the links between absorption of European funds and the development of rural areas in Latvia and Poland. Based on statistical data and Latvian territorial development index at local level, the value of index for Polish local communities was calculated showing a slightly bigger difference in local development in Poland. Absorption of EU funds was rather concentrated in both countries and its highest level was connected with major infrastructural projects as construction of roads, motorways, etc. The use of EU funds under Cohesion Policy is not correlated with the level of development, neither in Latvia nor in Poland. The only significant negative correlation can be observed between the development and the use of funds under Common Agricultural Policy and Fisheries Policy in Latvia.