Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GRANULAR (Giving Rural Actors Novel data and re-Useable tools to Lead public Action in Rural areas)
Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2024-03-31
Representing 30% of its population and over 80% of its territory, EU rural areas are facing simultaneous demographic, climate, economic, social and environmental changes which affect their characteristics. Responding to these challenges requires a precise understanding of what rural areas are, what rural communities are facing and what are the policy options available for a green transition nowadays. Currently, definitions of rural areas tend to lean on morphological indicators, such as population density. Such approaches do not provide sufficient insights into the dynamics, drivers and fluidity of contemporary diverse rural-urban relations and identities that characterize ruralities across Europe. Despite the increasing acknowledgement that rural areas are diverse and that policies should better take into account the identities of such territories, the lack of data at a fine spatio-temporal scale prevents such innovations.
Departing from an updated conceptualisation of rurality based on the multi-dimensional nature of contemporary rural-urban interrelations and interdependencies, GRANULAR generates new insights for characterising rural diversity based on a multi-actor and interdisciplinary approach. Through its Multi-Actor Labs and research activities, GRANULAR relies on 16 rural territories to advance scientific research and test innovations on a representative set of geographies and socio-political contexts across the European Union and Associated Countries. The work is organised through two types of Multi-Actor Labs:
i) Living Labs (LL), which co-construct and co-test innovative data collection methods and indicators to support current local policy decisions;
ii) and Replication Labs (RL), which test the replicability and validate data collection methods and indicators.
Based on the insights from these territories, the project generates novel datasets (at the local level but also EU-wide) using a wide range of methods and primary data, such as remote sensing, crowd-sourced data, social media data and web scraping. This data will then be combined with a variety of existing institutional data to derive indicators relevant to rural communities for the implementation of the EU Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas (LTVRA), to measure resilience, well-being, quality of life and attractiveness.
This leads GRANULAR to create the Rural Compass, an agile framework that takes into account the factors affecting rural communities and their functional characteristics, informing policymakers and rural actors for the design of tailored rural policies. After ensuring the out- and up-scalability of the results, datasets, data visualization and other tools will be directly available on a dedicated platform co-designed with rural actors.
Disciplines from social sciences and humanities (SSH) are strongly incorporated and play pivotal roles in the project, among which:
i) implementing and moderating the multi-actor approach within LLs and RLs;
ii) delivering new scientific evidence evidence not only on rural areas but also on the conceptualisation of diverse ruralities across Europe;
iii) analysing the resilience of rural areas and communities;
iv) qualifying the well-being of rural inhabitants in various territories; and
v) facilitating the dialogue on policy responses for rural areas between policymakers, rural practitioners, rural communities and the private sector.
Website: https://www.ruralgranular.eu/(opens in new window)
Departing from an updated conceptualisation of rurality based on the multi-dimensional nature of contemporary rural-urban interrelations and interdependencies, GRANULAR generates new insights for characterising rural diversity based on a multi-actor and interdisciplinary approach. Through its Multi-Actor Labs and research activities, GRANULAR relies on 16 rural territories to advance scientific research and test innovations on a representative set of geographies and socio-political contexts across the European Union and Associated Countries. The work is organised through two types of Multi-Actor Labs:
i) Living Labs (LL), which co-construct and co-test innovative data collection methods and indicators to support current local policy decisions;
ii) and Replication Labs (RL), which test the replicability and validate data collection methods and indicators.
Based on the insights from these territories, the project generates novel datasets (at the local level but also EU-wide) using a wide range of methods and primary data, such as remote sensing, crowd-sourced data, social media data and web scraping. This data will then be combined with a variety of existing institutional data to derive indicators relevant to rural communities for the implementation of the EU Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas (LTVRA), to measure resilience, well-being, quality of life and attractiveness.
This leads GRANULAR to create the Rural Compass, an agile framework that takes into account the factors affecting rural communities and their functional characteristics, informing policymakers and rural actors for the design of tailored rural policies. After ensuring the out- and up-scalability of the results, datasets, data visualization and other tools will be directly available on a dedicated platform co-designed with rural actors.
Disciplines from social sciences and humanities (SSH) are strongly incorporated and play pivotal roles in the project, among which:
i) implementing and moderating the multi-actor approach within LLs and RLs;
ii) delivering new scientific evidence evidence not only on rural areas but also on the conceptualisation of diverse ruralities across Europe;
iii) analysing the resilience of rural areas and communities;
iv) qualifying the well-being of rural inhabitants in various territories; and
v) facilitating the dialogue on policy responses for rural areas between policymakers, rural practitioners, rural communities and the private sector.
Website: https://www.ruralgranular.eu/(opens in new window)
So far, the project has completed the initial assessment and benchmarking phase. A first version of the Prototype Rural Compass has been developed and a benchmark of existing data relevant to rural areas and associated costs has been conducted. Project has reviewed data and conceptual frameworks for the following topics: environmental resilience, social and economic resilience, food systems, well-being, and rural attractiveness. Additionally, a compiling exercise identified the different types of territorial typologies used for planning policy in European Member States. In parallel of this conceptualising and benchmarking exercise, an assessment of the needs (data, indicators, tools) for designing rural policies has been conducted at the EU level and at the local level through living labs, and of the requirements for the online platform.
A Rural Compass has been designed to conceptualise diversity to inform EU, national and local actors in the development of evidence-based, place-based, integrated and tailored policies.
Novel rural data have been generated and assessed: by benchmarking existing rural data and feeding a repository; by benchmarking their performance and costs; by developing new methods and assessing their accuracy, validating their relevance, and evaluating their potential for replication and upscaling.
Indicators for rural areas are developed by quantifying trends, analysing determinants and assessing resilience to major threats; with specific attention to the various dimensions of just digital, economic and ecological transitions.
Rural proofing of policies is operationalised by developing a tool and guidelines based on the Rural Compass that will be tested on four selected policies and lead to the production of recommendations for tailored rural policies.
Engagement with rural actors was achieved by collecting, analysing, validating data to assess replicability and elaborate innovative local policies based on local needs.
The project shared knowledge and provide rural actors with tools for decisions-making by developing an online platform that describes and monitors rural characteristics, and informing rural actors about local action. GRANULAR is also proposing a Knowledge Transfer Accelerator to ensure dissemination of project results.
Novel rural data have been generated and assessed: by benchmarking existing rural data and feeding a repository; by benchmarking their performance and costs; by developing new methods and assessing their accuracy, validating their relevance, and evaluating their potential for replication and upscaling.
Indicators for rural areas are developed by quantifying trends, analysing determinants and assessing resilience to major threats; with specific attention to the various dimensions of just digital, economic and ecological transitions.
Rural proofing of policies is operationalised by developing a tool and guidelines based on the Rural Compass that will be tested on four selected policies and lead to the production of recommendations for tailored rural policies.
Engagement with rural actors was achieved by collecting, analysing, validating data to assess replicability and elaborate innovative local policies based on local needs.
The project shared knowledge and provide rural actors with tools for decisions-making by developing an online platform that describes and monitors rural characteristics, and informing rural actors about local action. GRANULAR is also proposing a Knowledge Transfer Accelerator to ensure dissemination of project results.