Smart Villages in rural Romania: building local capacity for community-led strategies

The Someș Transilvan LAG territory in north-west Romania covers 12 communes and around 45 600 inhabitants, ranging from peri-urban areas connected to Cluj-Napoca to more remote rural communities. In Romania, Smart Villages are mainly supported through LEADER. In the 2021-2027 period, around 90 of the approximately 250 Romanian LAGs have allocated at least 10% of their budgets to Smart Village activities.   

However, the concept is often understood primarily as a technology-driven approach, while community-led interpretations can be more difficult to explain and organise. At the same time, existing administrative frameworks tend to be better suited to physical investments than to participation, cooperation and social innovation. This created a need for a practical and replicable methodology that could help communities organise participation, build consensus around local priorities and develop strategies that are both locally owned and implementable. 

The initiative was developed in two stages. First, the LAG piloted the approach through a Living Lab in the commune of Bonțida, working with Babeș-Bolyai University and community development professionals and students. The pilot focused on explaining the Smart Village concept, clarifying expectations around participation and testing whether local actors were willing and able to take ownership of the process. It also broadened local discussions beyond traditional municipal planning topics to include issues such as community cohesion, entrepreneurship, tourism, education, communication, skills, traditions and mobility. 

Building on this experience, the LAG established an umbrella strategy-development pathway for communes across its territory, combining structured support with clear participation requirements. Interested communes first apply through a short pre-selection process and present their vision for the future of their community in a dedicated ‘Vision 2035’ pitching event.  

Selected communities then establish local strategy committees and receive support through local workshops, personalised counselling and small grants for planning activities. Communities are required to carry out needs analyses and consultations, involve community development and digital experts, and organise study visits to other communities to support learning and the integration of ‘smart’ solutions. Particular emphasis is placed on inclusive participation, with requirements for youth involvement and incentives for balanced representation of young people and women within local committees. 

Throughout the process, community members co-create the strategy content, municipalities provide an institutional anchor and formally approve the final strategy, and the LAG coordinates the methodology, ensures transparency and supports implementation across the territory. Funding is provided in stages, linking support to the completion and approval of Smart Village strategies and helping ensure that planning activities lead to concrete action. The LAG also plans to support selected investments and initiatives emerging from the completed strategies.