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RURACTIVE Empowering rural communities across Europe to act for sustainable, inclusive and smart change

RURACTIVE
  • Working with 12 pilot rural areas ("Dynamos") across Europe to build local, inclusive Multi-Actor Rural Innovation Ecosystems, with nine Additional Dynamos and sixteen SME innovators also joining through Open Calls
  • Developing a practical handbook guiding other rural areas through a step-by-step process for activating community-led Rural Innovation Ecosystems
  • Developing two interactive digital tools: a Decision Support Tool matching local needs with existing solutions, and an Adaptive Monitoring Tool to track the progress of local solutions
  • Engaging policymakers and practitioners through the RURACTIVE Forum, shaping policy recommendations that reflect rural actors' needs
  • RISE, together with EURICE, leads the project's communication and dissemination, and supports the Dynamos, synergy-building and exploitation of results

What the project is about

Rural areas across Europe face shared challenges around mobility, energy, agroecology, culture, health and tourism, often without the capacity to develop and scale solutions on their own. RURACTIVE addresses this by building Multi-Actor Rural Innovation Ecosystems in 12 pilot areas across seven EU countries, plus Ukraine, Scotland and Switzerland. The project combines training, capacity building and inclusive participatory processes – with particular attention to vulnerable groups – to help rural communities design and scale smart, place-based solutions, while integrating climate, biodiversity and social justice considerations throughout.

Why it matters

RURACTIVE matters because it turns local knowledge into a replicable methodology, helping rural communities recognise, involve and communicate with the people who can put solutions into practice. Its examples and digital tools also support municipalities, practitioners and other rural development bodies looking for inspiration and practical guidance. Through the RURACTIVE Forum, local and EU policymakers engage directly with the Dynamos, informing policy recommendations that reflect the real needs and gaps rural communities face.

Our role in the project

  • Co-leading the project's communication and dissemination activities, ensuring visibility for various outputs such as the Dynamos' local activities, the RURACTIVE Forum, digital tools, and the eLearning platform.
  • Guiding the Dynamos in developing and implementing their local communication activities.
  • Identifying synergies and collaboration opportunities with related projects and initiatives.
  • Advising the consortium on intellectual property rights, valorisation and the uptake of the project's main results.
Our role in the project

Want to know more?

Visit SOCIETY, our innovation ecosystem for education, democracy and inclusive social innovation, to explore more projects, tools and initiatives supporting collaborative R&I in the field.

Project Facts & Figures

Full title
RURACTIVE – Empowering rural communities to act for change
Programme
Horizon Europe & sub-programmes
Duration
48 months (September 2023 – August 2027)
Budget
EUR 6,452,255.00
Project website
https://www.ruractive.eu