Project description
Business transfer role in rural revitalisation
Decades of outmigration and an ageing population have disrupted the intergenerational transmission of rural heritage. Business transfers (BTs) can reconnect older and younger entrepreneurs but are often overlooked in rural development strategies, failing to address the specific social risks faced by vulnerable communities. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the RuBusT project will explore the role of BTs in rural revitalisation. Using place-based development studies and participatory research, it will assess existing assumptions about BTs in remote rural areas. Focusing on the ageing and depopulating communities of Alta Marmilla in Sardinia, Italy, the project will use interactive workshops to investigate rural BT ecosystems and engage local stakeholders in co-designing a BT strategy.
Objective
In order to continue its existence, a society needs people. But how can a society bounce back after it has passed that invisible threshold enabling its own self-reproduction? The RuBusT project tackles this question from an innovative angle, investigating the potential of business transfers (BTs) as catalysts for rural revitalisation.
Decades of outmigration and severe ageing have disrupted the spontaneous intergenerational transmission of the rural heritage. As entrepreneurial acts that can jointly preserve social and economic vitality — safer and more productive than startups — BTs appear as a promising avenue to reconnect rural generations and ensure the passage of knowledge from ageing entrepreneurs to younger innovators. Yet, not only are BTs overlooked in rural development strategies, the still developing field of BTs has mostly ignored rural realities, affected by methodologies unable to account for contextual sensitivities, that promote one-size-fits-all policies and that underestimate the level of socialisation of private risks, such as business closures, in vulnerable societies.
The project leverages the power of place-based development studies and participatory research to question on the ground each of these assumptions and influence the way we think about and practice BTs in remote rural areas (RRAs). Focusing on rapidly ageing and depopulating communities in Alta Marmilla in Sardinia, Italy, and using challenge-based interactive workshops, the project explores the nature and health of rural BT ecosystems and actively engages with BT stakeholders and citizens to co-design a BT Strategy. In this way, the project aims at strengthening BTs service provision and introducing new business models in BT transactions that prioritise local needs. Its learning outcomes can thus inspire similarly struggling European RRAs with new, practical ways to mitigate the worst effects of unfolding demographic changes and build robust rural societies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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09124 Cagliari
Italy
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