New Horizon Europe Research Project RURACTIVE: Eurice Joins Consortium to Innovate Rural Development
European rural communities and territories have a vast potential to become vibrant centres of innovation grounded in local resources, grassroots action, creativity and social inclusion. Boosted through digital innovation, valorisation of local resources and training, rural areas can strive to become attractive places for all people to live, work and stay. The new research project RURACTIVE – Empowering rural communities to act for change – aims to build on this potential to develop and introduce innovative approaches for a sustainable and just transition in support of the European efforts as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.
Empowering Rural Communities to Act for a Just and Sustainable Transition
RURACTIVE will work closely with 12 pilot areas, called dynamos, to establish local Multi-Actor Rural Innovation Ecosystems. To ensure their sustainability, the project will place great emphasis on addressing and strengthening multilevel governance, training and capacity development, place-based progress and inclusive processes looking also at more vulnerable groups such as older adults, people with disability, migrants and refugees. Women-led innovation will also be boosted and gender issues in marginalised areas will be considered and addressed throughout the project. Digital connectivity and learning are considered key enablers for the diversification of economic activities and smart solutions. Therefore, providing digital skills training and resources to rural communities is at the core of the project.
"Over the next four years, we will team up with our colleagues from RISE to develop and share new insights about enabling and blocking factors for innovation diffusion in rural environments. RURACTIVE is an Horizon Europe Innovation Action requiring substantial co-financing from our own R&I budget. However, our investment is linked with the expectation and assurance that our research activities in RURACTIVE will contribute to strengthening our excellence in innovation management. There is great potential to support societal change for many rural communities across Europe through more efficient and participatory innovation management processes," highlights Eurice CEO Jörg Scherer.
For more information on RURACTIVE, please visit the project website and stay up-to-date on the project developments on LinkedIn and X (formerly known as Twitter).
