landscape with fields and hills
Empowering rural communities to act for change

Approach

RURACTIVE supports the just and sustainable transition of European rural areas, making rural communities:

  • 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.

The RURACTIVE approach is based on six Rural Development Drivers (RDDs) which help to embed and categorise solutions that are developed and implemented in the 12 rural communities of the Dynamos.

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Sustainable agri-food systems and ecosystem managementNature-based and cultural tourismCulture and cultural innovationSustainable multimodal mobilityEnergy transition and climate neutralityLocal services, health and wellbeing

Cross-cutting priorities

Social justice and inclusion

Ensuring that all citizens have the equal opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in economic, social and cultural life, to enjoy an equitable environment and a standard of living and well-being. It encompasses, but is not restricted to, social integration, better access to the labour market, equal access to facilities, services and benefits, as well as involvement in policies and investments, developing and implementation of solutions for human wellbeing.

Biodiversity

The variety of ecosystems, species and genes in the world or in a particular habitat. It has intrinsic value, and it is instrumental to human wellbeing, as it delivers ecosystem services, or the services that nature supplies that sustain economies and societies.

Climate change Mitigation and Adaptation

Mitigation
Ensuring that all citizens have the equal opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in economic, social and cultural life, to enjoy an equitable environment and a standard of living and well-being. It encompasses, but is not restricted to, social integration, better access to the labour market, equal access to facilities, services and benefits, as well as involvement in policies and investments, developing and implementation of solutions for human wellbeing.

Adaptation
The process of adjusting, preparing and responding to actual or expected climate change effects and taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the damage they can cause, or taking advantage of opportunities that may arise. It is a series of proactive measures to deal with the nexus of hazard (e.g. drought, sea level rise), exposure (e.g. less water in the South), and vulnerability (e.g. poverty or lack of education). Adaptation measures include, for instance, infrastructure changes, improved governance, behavioural and economic shifts.

Leaving no one behind

RURACTIVE is dedicated to including and empowering all members of rural communities in the transition towards sustainable, balanced, and inclusive development, with a particular focus on social groups historically excluded or underrepresented in rural development decision-making processes. RURACTIVE solutions are co-created, co-implemented, and co-monitored with and for all community members. This commitment involves ensuring that no one is left behind in the process of identifying, engaging, and empowering stakeholders and community groups within Rural Innovation Ecosystems. Acknowledging that various social factors intersect simultaneously and are not exhaustive in defining social exclusion per se, RURACTIVE simplifies this complex understanding by defining specific vulnerable groups and groups at risk of social exclusion and underrepresentation that include – but are not limited to – the following:

  • Young people - 18-29 years old: They suffer more than other age groups from unemployment, difficult access to education and training, obstacles to set up new businesses, and lack of basic service, often causing young people migration to bigger towns and cities.
  • Older people - 65 years and over: They often face isolation, social exclusion and difficult access to basic services.
  • People with disabilities: people with long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments may, in interaction with various barriers, be hindered in their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. The lack of specialised support services for people with disabilities is a major barrier to their independent living in rural areas.
  • Migrants as well as linguistic/ethnic and religious minorities: Migrants residing in rural areas and mostly working in temporary and precarious agricultural jobs. Migrants and minorities are a particularly vulnerable group mostly left out from decision-making processes and practices.
  • Long-term unemployed people - people who are out of work and have been actively seeking employment for at least a year: Long-term unemployment in rural areas is worsened by limited job options and poor infrastructure, which hinders skill acquisition and perpetuates joblessness and social exclusion.

And what about the gender dimension? In RURACTIVE, the approach to gender is inherently transversal. RURACTIVE places significant emphasis on women, acknowledging their critical role in the development and sustainability of rural areas. Despite their substantial contributions, women often encounter barriers to full participation in decision-making processes, and their roles and contributions are frequently underestimated. Therefore, RURACTIVE's approach goes beyond ensuring fair representation and participation of women. It aims to unlock women-led innovation, tapping into the unique perspectives and capabilities women bring to rural development. At the same time, RURACTIVE is committed to ensuring that individuals belonging to gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQ+) face no discrimination.

RURACTIVE supports the transition of rural areas through three interlinked project phases:

  • 01. Knowledge building

    RURACTIVE supports the development of rural areas by providing a better understanding of various forms of innovations and making them available for the Dynamos and beyond. For that purpose, a Solutions’ Catalogue maps, systematises and operationalises existing smart and community-led solutions according to the six RDDs, the three cross-cutting priorities, types of innovations and geographical characteristics.

    Based on the Catalogue, the Dynamos and any other potentially interested rural communities select and understand which type of solutions they wish to develop, based on their needs and local challenges.

    Project partners also look at reformulating and enhancing the process of social innovation and participative governance within the Multi- Actor Rural Innovation Ecosystem to be established.

  • 02. Capacity sharing

    RURACTIVE encourages the sharing of capacities with and among rural communities empowering them to act for change. Dedicated training, knowledge transfer and methodologies for more inclusive decision-making processes is implemented for all, including vulnerable groups and people at risk of exclusion. This phase works in three parallel streams:

    1. Knowledge sharing and transfer among partners, Dynamos and local communities

    2. Continuous capacity sharing, education and Lifelong Learning for community development

    3. Development, implementation and upscaling of the RURACTIVE methodology for establishing Multi-Actor Rural Innovation Ecosystems.

  • 03. Evidence and innovation building

    RURACTIVE adapts, pilots and tests the smart and community-led solutions developed in the 12 Dynamos according to local needs and challenges. The defined solutions include new approaches, methods and tools that will be widely shared so that they can be replicated by other rural communities. This will ensure sustainability beyond the lifetime of the project. To enhance the development of smart and community-led solutions, RURACTIVE supports Dynamos through