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Countryside communities will be tackling issues from affordable housing to local transport, under a new scheme to give rural people greater influence.
Eight 'pathfinder' associations have been created by the government to enable rural communities to decide for themselves what their priorities are and how to achieve them.
The partnerships will focus on areas important to country dwellers, such as rural poverty, post offices, supporting local businesses and protecting natural heritage.
The associations are made up of local authorities, regional development agencies, the voluntary sector, community councils and other local bodies working together.
Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael said: "The government recognises that those best placed to identify local priorities - and possible solutions to those priorities - are local people themselves."
"We are committed to devolving resources so they can be targeted most effectively, and the chosen pathfinders will set the standard by innovating ways to achieve this."
The eight regional pathfinders are: Dorset, Peak District Rural Action Zone, Shropshire, Hampshire, Humber sub-region, Lancashire, West Durham and the Fens area of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Peterborough.
The pathfinders include partnerships across whole counties, ones involving separate unitary authorities, and one in the Peak District that crosses the regional boundary between East and West Midlands.
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