Research and Knowledge | The European Network for Rural Development (ENRD)

Research and Knowledge

Many European networks and organisations are actively developing and sharing ideas about Smart Villages. These actors often operate within different policy fields, therefore there is much to be learned from linking them more closely.

The sections below include some of the most relevant projects developed under the EU’s Research and Innovation programmes FP7 and Horizon 2020, territorial cooperation under Interreg, and the work of other networks.

Rural Innovation (business, social and digitisation)

Learn from experiences and research developed on rural business and social innovation, entrepreneurship and digitisation of rural areas.

Business

Boosting Social Enterprise Development | OECD, 2017
IRIS - Policies to improve rural areas' innovation systems by professionalising networking activities and use of innovation tools | 2017-2021 | Interreg
Rural SMEs - Policies to develop entrepreneurship and innovative SMEs in rural areas | 2017-2021| Interreg

Social

Learning in Rural Schools | OECD, 2019
SIMRA – Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas | 2016-2020 | Horizon 2020
RurInno – Social Innovation in Rural Regions | 2016-2020 | Horizon 2020
SIC – Social Innovation Community | 2016- 2019
TRANSIT – Transformative Social Innovation Theory | 2014-2017 | FP7
SI-Drive – Social Innovation: Driving Force of Social Change | 2014-2017 | FP7
SOCENT SPAs – Social Entrepreneurship in Sparsely Populated Areas | 2017-2021 | Interreg
RaiSE – Enhancing social enterprises competitiveness through improved business support policies | 2017-2021 | Interreg
SOCIAL SEEDS – Exploiting potentials of social enterprises through standardized European evaluation and development system | 2016-2021 | Interreg

Digitisation

DESIRA - Digitisation: Economic and Social Impacts on Rural Areas | 2019-2023 | Horizon 2020
DataBio – The Data-Driven Bioeconomy | 2017 - 2020 | Horizon 2020
FLOURISH – Robots for more productive and sustainable agriculture | 2015-2018| Horizon 2020
Humane AI – human-centered artificial intelligence | Horizon 2020
IOF2020 – Internet of Food & Farm (IoT) | Horizon 2020
Digitising Agriculture | EIP-AGRI
Smart AGRI Hubs | 2018-2022 | Horizon 2020
Impacts of the digital economy on the food chain and the CAP | European Parliament, 2019
ERUDITE – Enhancing Rural and Urban Digital Innovation Territories | 2016-2020 | Interreg
DANTE – Digital Agenda for New Tourism Approach in European Rural and Mountain Areas | 2012-2014 | Interreg
SAE – Smart Anything Everywhere | 2017-2020 | Horizon 2020
CORA – Connecting Remote Areas with digital infrastructure and services | 2017-2020 | Interreg
MDPI Book Sustainable Smart Cities and Smart Villages Research | October 2018
Smart villages: Where can they happen? | Article by Łukasz Komorowski and Monika Stanny from the IRWiR PAN, Warsaw | 2020 |

Rural Services

Digital exchange platform - Alpine Space project, 2020
EURUFU – European Rural Futures, public services in rural areas | 2011-2014 | Interreg
Strategies to improve rural service delivery | Rural Policy Reviews | OECD, 2010
Statistics on rural areas in the EU (including information on basic services) | Report | Eurostat, 2017
Social care as a local economic solution for the West Midlands in UK | Report | New Economics Foundation, 2017
ELORA – Education for Local Development of Rural Areas | 2017-2019 | Erasmus+

Sustainability (mobility, climate change, energy)

Learn from experiences and research developed in areas related to mobility, energy and climate change.

Mobility

SMARTA – Smart Rural Transport Areas | 2018 - ongoing | European Commission
MAMBA – Mobility, accessibility, innovation | 2017-2020 | Interreg
RUMOBIL – Rural public transport | 2016-2019 | Interreg
Move on Green – Sustainable transport in rural areas | 2012-2014 | Interreg
FLIPPER – Flexible transport services and ICT platform for eco-mobility in urban and rural European areas | 2008-2011| Interreg

Energy

BIOVILL- Increasing the Market Uptake of Sustainable Bioenergy | 2016-2019 | Horizon 2020
Renewable Energy Communities | Policy Brief | August 2018 | Interreg Policy Learning Platform on Low-carbon economy

Climate Change

Reshaping the Future: How local communities are catalysing social, economic and ecological transformation in Europe | Full report | ECOLISE, 2019
TESS – Towards European Societal Sustainability: community climate action across Europe | 2013-2016 | FP7

Rural-Urban Linkages

FabLab Slovenia and 4PDIH community support (during COVID-19 pandemic), 2020
Leveraging Megatrends for Cities and Rural Areas | OECD, 2019
ROBUST – Rural-urban Europe | 2017-2021 | Horizon 2020
TASTE – Towards A SmarT Rural Europe: rural-urban relationships and territorial governance | 2013-2017 | FP7

Integrated Territorial Development

Learn from experiences and research on implementing integrated territorial development approaches.

RURALIZATION – knowledge-based policies to make rural dreams of young Europeans true | 2019 - 2022 | Horizon 2020
Smart Villages in the EU and Beyond | Book | Emerald, 2019
REDPOBLAR | Spain
REGINA - Innovative model developing Local Smart Specialisation Strategies (LS3) for small, remote communities in the Northern Periphery and Arctic area with large-scale, resource-based industrial development | 2015-2018 | Interreg
Inner peripheries in Europe: Possible development strategies to overcome their marginalising effects | Policy Brief | ESPON, 2018
The territorial dimension of future policies | Policy Brief | ESPON, 2018
Shrinking rural regions in Europe | Policy Brief | ESPON, 2017