Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RUSTIK (Rural Sustainability Transitions through Integration of Knowledge for improved policy processes)
Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-02-29
Rural areas across Europe are facing a diversity of challenges while undergoing transitions, i.e. processes of profound change.
The overarching objective of RUSTIK is to enable rural communities’ actors and policy-makers to design better strategies, initiatives and policies fostering rural sustainability transitions. This is to be achieved through creating an advanced understanding of different rural functionalities, characteristics and future scenarios of rural areas, their potentials and challenges.
Central specific objectives are to provide (1) a robust methodological framework for functional rural areas, (2) databases integrating data of different types and sources, (3) improved strategies and governance approaches for rural decision-makers and stakeholders, and (4) improved approaches for rural impact assessment and decentralised rural proofing.
RUSTIK addresses the topic by illuminating three key transitions in rural areas, i.e. (1) socio-economic/demographic, (2) climate change and environmental, and (3) digital.
The key expected impacts of RUSTIK are:
(1) In the course of the project, rural actors including local and/or regional administrations and policy-makers, rural communities’ civil society and economic actors are expected to have improved their skills and capacities to generate knowledge together. At this, it will be ensured that the co-created approaches are practice-oriented and that they are suitable for different European contexts and capacities of local actors. The empowerment of rural actors will be achieved by the multi-actor and transdisciplinary approach implemented through Living Labs in 14 Pilot Regions across Europe.
(2) RUSTIK will provide new methods, databases, intervention design principles and improved policy impact assessment approaches implemented in the 14 Pilot Regions as part of project activities. Based on this, more evidence- and place-based, integrated and tailored policies, strategies and governance frameworks will be delivered. These will directly influence local decision-making to manage transitions in a sustainable, balanced and inclusive manner.
Social sciences and humanities (SSH) are well represented in the consortium through the participation of different academic and research partners. Their expertise is essential for the achievement of project objectives. SSH partners hold responsibility in all steps of the work performed, including synthesis and formulating policy recommendations (WP5) and disseminating results (WP6). SSH partners work in close collaboration with partners both from other scientific fields like environmental and data sciences, and with local practice actors.
The overarching objective of RUSTIK is to enable rural communities’ actors and policy-makers to design better strategies, initiatives and policies fostering rural sustainability transitions. This is to be achieved through creating an advanced understanding of different rural functionalities, characteristics and future scenarios of rural areas, their potentials and challenges.
Central specific objectives are to provide (1) a robust methodological framework for functional rural areas, (2) databases integrating data of different types and sources, (3) improved strategies and governance approaches for rural decision-makers and stakeholders, and (4) improved approaches for rural impact assessment and decentralised rural proofing.
RUSTIK addresses the topic by illuminating three key transitions in rural areas, i.e. (1) socio-economic/demographic, (2) climate change and environmental, and (3) digital.
The key expected impacts of RUSTIK are:
(1) In the course of the project, rural actors including local and/or regional administrations and policy-makers, rural communities’ civil society and economic actors are expected to have improved their skills and capacities to generate knowledge together. At this, it will be ensured that the co-created approaches are practice-oriented and that they are suitable for different European contexts and capacities of local actors. The empowerment of rural actors will be achieved by the multi-actor and transdisciplinary approach implemented through Living Labs in 14 Pilot Regions across Europe.
(2) RUSTIK will provide new methods, databases, intervention design principles and improved policy impact assessment approaches implemented in the 14 Pilot Regions as part of project activities. Based on this, more evidence- and place-based, integrated and tailored policies, strategies and governance frameworks will be delivered. These will directly influence local decision-making to manage transitions in a sustainable, balanced and inclusive manner.
Social sciences and humanities (SSH) are well represented in the consortium through the participation of different academic and research partners. Their expertise is essential for the achievement of project objectives. SSH partners hold responsibility in all steps of the work performed, including synthesis and formulating policy recommendations (WP5) and disseminating results (WP6). SSH partners work in close collaboration with partners both from other scientific fields like environmental and data sciences, and with local practice actors.
In order to achieve its overarching and specific objectives, RUSTIK has so far (1) created a conceptual basis for functional rural areas, transition and resilience of rural areas, building on previous research (WP1), (2) co-designed data collection and analytical approaches for testing and refinement (WP2), fostered capacity-building among local actors in rural areas by establishing and developing plans and innovative activities in Living Labs in 14 European Pilot Regions in 10 countries (WP3), investigated policy frameworks and analysed coordination mechanisms within the Pilot Regions (WP4), and produced and shared a variety of reports, blogs and news across Europe via its website and social media channels (WP6).
The consortium is now pioneering innovative methods for data collection and analysis, along with new information systems. New indicators and interactive data-gathering methods are being applied to address current needs, offering localised analysis and access to aspects previously examined only at broader levels. This encompasses data on social equality and cohesion, demographic and digital challenges, climate risks, and adaptation potentials. A European database (including EU, also UK and Serbia) is also being tested and expanded, through this work.
The consortium is now pioneering innovative methods for data collection and analysis, along with new information systems. New indicators and interactive data-gathering methods are being applied to address current needs, offering localised analysis and access to aspects previously examined only at broader levels. This encompasses data on social equality and cohesion, demographic and digital challenges, climate risks, and adaptation potentials. A European database (including EU, also UK and Serbia) is also being tested and expanded, through this work.
Definitions of rurality have been debated in numerous research papers for almost 60 years. In attempts for definition, researchers have aimed to understand rurality in space, creating various typologies based on different quantifiable criteria. In recent decades, a series of relevant research projects and activities have provided substantial evidence on the diversity of rural areas. Approaches and methods to analyse and describe rural diversity have changed over time, moving from indicators of population density and percentage of rural population to more elaborate criteria, units of reference and thresholds.
RUSTIK has the ambition to further deepen the functional rural areas concept by revising the current rural-urban typology and introducing criteria to define functional rural areas based on the variety of roles that rural areas play in the socio-economic and environmental context. RUSTIK aims to design and implement a revised functional rural areas methodology that works on the present definitions and:
a) captures the main diversities of rural areas and ensures replicability in all EU regions,
b) combines different data sources and types by overcoming persistent data gaps through new ways of local/regional data collection for rural areas,
c) defines pathways to gather and exploit data with local stakeholders within a continuous and iterative process of mutual learning between research and practice partners as well as stakeholders involved, and
d) connects provision of data systems to local actors’ policy design needs, linking data use both to understanding rural diversity, and to impact assessments of local actors’ strategies under different kinds of transitions.
RUSTIK’s significant investment in understanding and facilitating an effective Living Lab method for rural action and impact across Europe is generating novel ideas and insights that go beyond the state of the art in the domain of effective participatory methodologies for impactful rural research.
RUSTIK has the ambition to further deepen the functional rural areas concept by revising the current rural-urban typology and introducing criteria to define functional rural areas based on the variety of roles that rural areas play in the socio-economic and environmental context. RUSTIK aims to design and implement a revised functional rural areas methodology that works on the present definitions and:
a) captures the main diversities of rural areas and ensures replicability in all EU regions,
b) combines different data sources and types by overcoming persistent data gaps through new ways of local/regional data collection for rural areas,
c) defines pathways to gather and exploit data with local stakeholders within a continuous and iterative process of mutual learning between research and practice partners as well as stakeholders involved, and
d) connects provision of data systems to local actors’ policy design needs, linking data use both to understanding rural diversity, and to impact assessments of local actors’ strategies under different kinds of transitions.
RUSTIK’s significant investment in understanding and facilitating an effective Living Lab method for rural action and impact across Europe is generating novel ideas and insights that go beyond the state of the art in the domain of effective participatory methodologies for impactful rural research.