SocietyRURACTIVE
Empowering Rural Communities to Act for Change
At a Glance
- Empowering rural communities across Europe through innovation, sustainability and social inclusion
- Co-designed innovative rural solutions in 12 European pilot areas addressing the most pressing local challenges
- Strengthening the concept of Rural Innovation Ecosystems
Sustainable Futures for Rural Areas
Rural communities are often left behind. RURACTIVE supports their just and sustainable transition making them:
• Stronger and healthier: through the provision of local services for rural welfare, co-developed using digital tools, and through social innovations taking into account social justice and cohesion.
• Connected: by enhancing the local physical and digital infrastructure and improving sustainable multi-modal mobility, as well as increasing digital skills for use and interaction of community-led digital innovations.
• Resilient and prosperous: by fostering green recovery, economic diversification and revitalisation of cultural and creative sectors, nature-based and cultural tourism, agri-food systems and ecosystem management as well as energy transition for climate neutrality.
A New Community-Led Development Approach for Smart and Sustainable Rural Solutions
RURACTIVE partners drive rural innovation in twelve European rural communities, the so-called “Dynamos”. They serve as hubs of rural innovation, where local communities implement innovative solutions tailored to their unique contexts. The Dynamos are central to the project, acting as focal points for piloting new practices, fostering local engagement and addressing specific rural challenges. The solutions focus on six key Rural Development Drivers complemented by four key cross-cutting priorities to ensure a sustainable and just transitions for all. Each rural development solution being developed strives to integrate four main forms of innovation: 1) digital and technological innovation, 2) technical innovation, 3) social, organisational and governance innovation, and 4) financial and business model innovation.
