Horizon Europe Projekt
The project has been tendered in the Horizon Europe Programme under the thematic area of promoting "resilient rural communities" under the title "Grasping rural diversity and strengthening evidence for tailored policies enhancing the contribution of rural communities to ecological, digital and social transitions (RIA)" (CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-01). In view of insufficient impacts and the increasing challenges posed by social and ecological developments, this call for proposals provides for intensified analysis of societal adaptation needs and support for effective rural policy-making processes.
Objective
Building on an improved analytical understanding of the "functions" of rural areas and the processes for achieving sustainable and resilient spatial development, this project will contribute to an area-specific examination of effective implementation examples. A knowledge-based participation strategy of local actors and decision-makers in 14 European pilot regions will be developed to increase the impact orientation of existing (or future) support programs. In this context, Living Labs should enable an improved understanding of the different characteristics of rural regions and contribute to the planning and collection of relevant data structures and information needs.
Status of the project and work 2026
In line with the project schedule, the data experiment in the pilot region of Nock-region-Oberkärnten was completed in 2025 and discussed with a broad academic audience in various conference contributions (IMC 2025, ÖGA, EUGEO, ERDN). In addition, a BAB seminar on the topic of ‘Evidence-based support for sustainable change in rural regions’ was held at the BAB on 9 September 2025, to which representatives from the BMLUK and other interested parties from practice, administration, research and consulting were invited. In January 2025, work also began on the final content work package (WP Lead: BAB), which deals with the consolidation and synthesis of the results of the Living Labs and analyses the possibilities and conditions. In November 2025, four thematic workshops organised and conducted by the BAB took place as part of the consortium meeting in Cheltenham (UK), where the 14 Living Labs had the opportunity to discuss their results and findings within the project. Key points from the discussions will in turn be incorporated into the analysis work. Three project final reports are planned for 2026, which will summarise and compare the results of the Living Labs on the one hand and different approaches and data analysis tools on the other, as well as analyse rural change processes in the context of political measures and governance structures.
Timetable
Project start: 09/2022
Project end: 08/2026
