How can rural sustainability transitions be best supported through knowledge-based strategies and policies?
The four-year Horizon Europe project RUSTIK, in which BAB leads a work package, addresses exactly this question through data experiments in fourteen European Living Labs. As the project draws to a close, it was time to invite stakeholders to a large final conference in Brussels on 24 and 25 June. The event was organised jointly with the Horizon Europe sister project GRANULAR.
The conference opened with presentations on the characteristics of territorial complexity in Europe, as well as on the methods and objectives pursued by the two projects in this context. Building on this, a round table addressed the role of data and information in tackling challenges in rural areas. Various actors from the Living Labs and other institutions then demonstrated how the complexity of rural areas can be understood, and which tools and frameworks can support this understanding.
The first day was therefore primarily devoted to understanding the complexity of rural areas in Europe. The focus was on how innovative data sources and territorial analysis tools can be used together with local knowledge to enable more informed decision-making in rural development. A key conclusion was that robust data can only unfold its full potential for evidence-based policy in interplay with the knowledge and experience of local people.
The second day accordingly focused on how this understanding of complexity was developed, implemented, and applied within the two projects. Following opening remarks from the two project coordinators and a representative of the Commission, an engaging panel explored how the activities of the Living Labs can influence strategy and policy development. This was followed by a discussion on scaling: how does one move from data experiments to replicable innovations? As part of this session, Ingrid Machold also shared insights from her experience with the fourteen RUSTIK Living Labs. The final session focused on the role of local communities in the context of sustainability transitions. As the presentations vividly demonstrated, so-called "community-led approaches" help to harness locally available knowledge and local needs within development processes. It was also emphasised that a stronger link between local knowledge and policy design is an essential precondition for effective, measures tailored to the respective rural areas.
A thorough examination of the opportunities and challenges that rural complexity presents for Europe's future is essential, particularly at a time of fundamentally changing institutional frameworks (such as the development of new programme logics for the next funding period). The conference was a key contribution to advancing this debate and disseminating important insights for rural development.
Photos by Sophie Hugon, Ingrid Machold, Daria Ernst
