Israel has a world record in the vaccination against the corona virus, but the COVID-19 pandemic has other consequences as well – it pushed many people to work from home, and many companies allow now their employees to work, at least partly, from distance. This created special conditions for people to resident and work at the Galilee remote periphery and as a result, we see requests from young families to examine possibilities to resident in the Galilee.

This emphasised the work done at the Galilee region, in the SWOT and Foresight exercises, to concentrated on the upgrading of the digitalisation infrastructure of the region to a much higher level that exists today.

We are aware that the failure rates of digital transformations in the world and companies remain high. These failures are mostly due to the unique challenges associated with digital change, including the transition from a current to digital culture and a more entrepreneurial culture needed. The world now is also emphasising the need to work in cross-disciplinary teams while the norm is to focus on specific areas and dealing with keeping up with accelerated time schedules, due to the need to quickly meet customer expectations and to adapt responses to the evolving target situations.

In the Galilee, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the innovative Israeli character, most business leaders and regional authorities understand that the digital transformation is not just about technology: above all, it is about people. This makes the plan for change complicated – so a new approach is required for managing the change.

The “Core Team” of the Galilee PoliRural project therefore has defined the upgrading of the digitalisation infrastructure of this peripheral region to emphasis three key “imperatives” in successful digital conversions and regional economic development. These commands shaped the proposed methodology for management change in the current plan:

1. Establishing an integrated approach, based on tangible elements, such as technology and processes, on the one hand, and intangible elements, such as social interactions, on the other; in other words, the integration of teams, in a lengthwise manner, “a transformation journey” in the whole region;
2. Quick action by proactively updating required changes to meet both current and emerging needs, effectively suiting the targets;
3. Adapting “classic change management levers”, such as communication, leadership, team definition, training, etc., to the needs of digitalization, in an integrated manner.

In order to achieve the PoliRural goals, the MIGAL – Galilee Research Institute join the Eastern-Galilee Cluster of the municipalities and are seeking now for a company that will examine the current situation, but mainly the needs for 2040 and develop a business plan. The plan aims to be submitted to the Israeli government in a PPP (Public-Private-Partnership) approach to implement the PoliRural programme in the Galilee. We already approached some Israeli and European entities and are waiting to find out if we will get proposal that could be submitted in this PPP approach and convince them to invest. We are open for discussions.

The rural economies in the twelve pilots of the PoliRural project are characterized by their own challenges and dynamics. To illustrate the diversity and complexity of the rural economies in the twelve PoliRural pilots, case studies on new entrants and new activities in the twelve PoliRural pilots are gathered. Eventually the case studies on new entrants and new activities in the twelve PoliRural pilots will be available on the PoliRural project website and on the Best Practices Atlas.

In the last weeks the Flanders pilot has started to collect case studies on new entrants and new activities in the rural economy of Flanders. In Flanders, many farmers diversify their activities in order to get additional income. These activities are often not directly related to food production. For example, in 2018, 361 farms received an additional income from tourism, accommodation or leisure activities and 252 farms produced energy for sale. New or diversification activities on farms have often a strong social and environmental focus. For example, in 2018 there were 424 active care farms in Flanders. In 2020, there were nearly 8000 management agreements with farmers for nature, environment and landscape management. These agreements comprise erosion control measures, field edge management, small landscape element and botanical management and species protection. This illustrates the positive impact farmers have on the rural economy in terms of employment, activities, processing and tourism.

A nice example of how economic diversification is central on most farms in Flanders is given by the testimony from the Van het Lindeveld farm: “We have a cattle farm with Belgian Blue and Black Angus cattle. Since November 2019 we have started selling our own farm meat. Since March 2020 (COVID-19), this has grown into a concept of a drive-in Open Air Shop and together with fellow farmers we offer more products. In addition, we are also working on a project on more natural calving at our Belgian White Blue breed and we have also built a knowledge network around this with people from the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland. We will soon also be offering short-term accommodation from summer 2021 onwards in our converted cattle wagon.”

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In Central Greece, the pilot activities revolved around the evaluation of the Measure 41 of the local Leader Program 2007-2013, entitled “Initiative for sustainable and sustainable development of the Fthiotian countryside”. The measure was assessed in terms of effectiveness, relevance, and coherence, by using questionnaires and conducting interviews with the people involved. The results indicated that the implementation of the measure is considered to be generally successful to a moderate and great extent. However, the responses revealed a lack of information regarding the bio-economy activities and EU policies, stressing the fact that significant learning and capacity-building activities are required to ensure the potential of measures utilised by LEADER. According to the respondents, some of the obstacles that were identified and caused delays in the measures’ implementation were the complexity of bureaucratic procedures, multiplicity of laws, political instability, and the adverse effects of the long economic crisis during the 2010-2013 period. Furthermore, the need for additional measures was highlighted (measures that will target the support of vulnerable groups and the attraction of new entrants to the countryside). A combination of linked policy approaches is necessary to entice newcomers to rural areas, considering that it is a long-term objective.

As part of the Foresight process, the STEEPV inventory that was developed within the project was circulated among the participants of the stakeholder panel. The changes that take place now or in the near future in the Region of Central Greece were pointed out, as well as the importance of the effect of the forces driving those changes. During February, two strategic on-line conversations were held on the “drivers of change” to analyse the social, technological, economic, environmental, political, and other factors that affect local development. For this purpose, online meetings were held with local bodies from the academic field, the business world, the local government, as well as representatives of the society from all the prefectures of the Region of Central Greece.

During the discussions, emphasis was placed upon the need to support employment opportunities, public services, transport, as well as more systematic informative actions on the region’s programs to attract people to the area. In addition, shortcomings in connectivity and the level of digital skills were reported, highlighting the need to improve network infrastructure and provide well-organized training opportunities in modern technologies. At the same time, participants acknowledged the issue of piecemeal approaches and the need for structured and linked policies that are clearly perceived by those directly involved in order for them to thrive. As mentioned during discussions, collaborative actions between agri-food production and processing units with business and tourism, will contribute to the effective promotion and diversification of local products, as well as the stimulation of business activity. Other issues raised including renewable energy sources, circular economy activities, and the financial capacity to support technology investments in smart farming, especially for small and medium-sized agri-food units.

The next step of the pilot activities will include discussions and Deep Dives on issues of significant importance such as the impact of COVID-19 in order to understand the negative effects of the pandemic, evaluate how well the region responded to the event, and the measures needed to assure recovery from the pandemic.

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The PoliRural Spanish pilot aims to explore the possibilities of a better tourist performance of the Segóbriga Archaeological site (Roman city from the 6th-7th centuries), as a catalyst for a greater economic revitalization of the territory and employment. Within this pilot strategy, an interpretive app is being developed, with innovative technologies such as augmented reality, image recognition, insertion of 3D objects, etc., which allows tourists to visit the site in a personal and unique way.

An initial version of the app was presented on April 16, 2021, in a demonstration meeting attended by representatives of the territory’s policy makers, who were able to understand the multiple possibilities offered by the application. Moreover, this app allows to include a considerable amount of information and resources without the need to install disruptive elements of the landscape, putting the value of its versatility and suitability to the interpretation of different types of heritage.

The application allows to enjoy recreations of some elements of the museum as well as discover the archaeological remains outside, by following a geolocated map with information, automated voice warnings and 3D recreations. From now on, the work to be done would be to improve some technical issues of the app, taking into account the feedback of the visitors. In May, a test version will be available for the public visiting the park. The final version is expected at the end of 2021. Another very important aim is to connect the app with the economic development of the territory, and analyze what effects are to be expected in the area, within the foresight activities.

The territory is suffering a serious depopulation crisis (an average loss of 12% of the population since 2010), that triggers a shortage of young people willing to start businesses in the area. In 2019, more than 80% of the visitors to the archaeological park stayed in the territory for just one day. In 2020, the number of visitors related to rural tourism has fallen by 70% due to the pandemic, therefore it is a very weakened sector at this moment.

During the presentation day, ideas were exchanged in this regard. New discussions with other stakeholders were agreed to further define the strategy. At the demonstration meeting, an informative video of the project was also presented, which can be visualized here.

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One of the key objectives of the PoliRural project is the identification of social, technological, economic, environmental, political, and other factors that affect local development in rural areas.

For this reason, the Greek pilot organized a series of online webinars with local bodies of the region of Central Greece on the 2^nd and 4^th of February and on the 14^th of April of 2021. At all three webinars, representatives from academia and business sector, from local government, as well as representatives of society (cooperatives, associations, etc.) participated. During the webinars, the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on all aspects of everyday life along with the need to support employment opportunities, local transport and more systematic public information on national and European population attraction programs in the region, were highlighted. In addition, the need to improve network infrastructure and to provide well-organized training in modern digital technologies has emerged during the webinars.

PoliRural invites you to participate in the “Open Spring INSPIRE Hackathon 2021”, a series of challenges that will be focused on developments and innovations in agriculture, the environment, transport, tourism, geospatial applications or remote sensing and GNSS.

During the months of April and May, a unique opportunity to try out new technologies and infrastructures will be offered, which will be open to all developers. “Open Spring INSPIRE Hackathon 2021” opens up opportunities for cooperation in the development of various solutions with participants from all over the world, and at the same time offers everyone the enrichment of their own experience.

You can participate in the following challenges:

1. How to use and improve OLU 2.0.0
2. Regional Atractiveness
3. Analysis of Drought Conditions for Selected Use-Cases
4. Analytical map of traffic accidents in Czechia
5. SmartAfriHub III – African Agricultural Water Security
6. Analysis of Sentinel 2 and Sentinel 1 time series for the purpose of Agriculture
7. Interactive collaborative data capturing at scale – technology and business models
8. AgroInfo Application
9. Agrihub Slovakia
10. Evaluation of OSM 4 purposes of Traffic Modelling
11. From Smart Points of Interest towards sustainable Points of Interest

More information about the Hackathon can be viewed here. You can also register to the Hackathon here.

You can view the replay of the Kick-off webinar dedicated to the challenge introduction of the Open Spring INSPIRE Hackathon here.

PoliRural has developed and published an Evaluation Based Cluster Map of PoliRural 12 Pilots. The diagram groups pilots according to common themes and priorities identified in a recent policy evaluation. A node linking two or more regions provides common ground for exploration of new policy measures, a task due to start in the coming months. Inter-pilot similarities help facilitate cross-border learning that regional foresight teams can leverage to see what worked, or didn’t, in other places, and why, before developing an optimal intervention for their rural area.

The Evaluation Based Cluster Map of PoliRural 12 Pilots can be viewed here.

PoliRural has developed and published an Inventory of Drivers of Change that aims to understand how changes in rural areas are happening now, the kind of changes that are likely to have an impact in the future, their interlinkages and dependencies, their importance, and the possibility of being able to influence them based on policy choices.

The Inventory of Drivers of Change has found 64 drivers of change across 6 categories, that will be used for the drivers analysis activity in each of the 12 regional PoliRural pilots. It is not by any means exhaustive. But it provides a useful starting point for the ‘drivers analysis’ activity in each of the 12 regional Foresight pilots.

The categories are the following:

• Social Factors;
• Technological Factors;
• Economic Factors;
• Environmental Factors;
• Political Factors;
• Value Related Factors.

The Inventory of Drivers of Change can be downloaded here.

On the 16^th of March, a workshop was held in the context of PoliRural Macedonian pilot Gevgelija-Strumica. The workshop was held online and it included the discussion of recent results of the pilot. The meeting also included a presentation of the policy evaluation results, as well as the next steps in Foresight exercise.

More info about the pilot can be found here.

PoliRural participated in virtual event Rural Vision Week – Imagining the future of Europe’s rural areas, an event promoted by the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD), in close cooperation with the European Commission, that happened between 22 and 26 March 2021.

This interactive event included high level presentations and discussions, a marketplace, workshops and ‘fringe’ activities. These involved European stakeholder participants in working together to contribute to the preparation of a long-term Vision for the future of EU rural areas in relation to which the Commission is scheduled to adopt a Communication later this summer.

PoliRural contributed to the event with a virtual stall, that included promotional info about the project, relevant documents and more. You can visit PoliRural stall here.

More info about the event Rural Vision Week – Imagining the future of Europe’s rural areas is available here.