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RUral FUture NetworkS (RUFUS)

Summary: RUFUS (Rural Future Networks) sets out to provide policy makers and stakeholders with a better theoretical and practical understanding of how CAP measures interact with other forms of public intervention in rural development; and how policy regimes can be combined to ensure a more sustainable development. RUFUS therefore investigates how rural development policy can be targeted at the specific endogenous potential of rural regions to encourage multiple functionalities which go beyond physical landscape potentials to include social as well as economic activities and opportunities.

Overall purpose: Rufus has six key objectives:

1. tie the understanding of policy regime interaction to a typology of rural areas which is differentiated at the regional level;
2. build the social dimension and endogenous development potentials into the analysis of rural change alongside economic, demographic and ecological variables;
3. analyse and communicate rural change through scenarios of the trajectory of types of rural area under varying policy approaches;
4. test findings against the experiences of different categories of local stakeholders including business, government, gender, young people, unemployed and other civic groups;
5. refine and communicate the scientific findings into practical recommendations for policy makers, agencies and other actors;
6. use an interdisciplinary methodology and explanation which encourages a confrontation of the hard empirical approach with the more qualitative social and policy approaches

Results and recommendations: Results and recommendations are in the form of a collection of documents (available on the project website):

1. a position paper (baseline assessment);
2. a set of photo-realistic visualisations for case studies;
3. single Case study reports; and iv) case studies final report.

EAFRD priority area(s) and themes: Quality of life and economic diversification; Horizontal aspects. Policy analysis and development; public goods.

Main target end users: Policy makers and key stakeholders

Project study regions: DE, NL, FR, UK, SE

Language(s): EN

Funding source: EU FP7

Start and end date: Feb 2008 - April 2011

Website: https://rufus-eu.de/

Project contact:
Leibniz University Hanover
Institute of Environmental Planning
Contact person: PD Dr Sylvia Herrmann
Herrenhäuser Straße 2
D - 30419 Hannover
phone +49 511 762 3960
fax +49 511 3791
Info: www.rufus-eu.de
E-Mail: info@rufus-eu.de