The research starts from the necessity to create specific tools for evaluating the impacts of rural development policies on fragile areas. The objective of this study is to exploit a synthetic measure of marginality, obtained through a specific tool set by IRES Piemonte (Institute of Socio Economic Research) as a proxy of quality of life indicators. The aim of this tool is to evaluate the potential effects of the measures programmed in axes 3 and 4 of Rural Development Programmes, in terms of changes in quality of life in rural areas. In the evaluation field, this methodology is applicated for the first time to Piedmont’s Rural Development Programme.