Smart solutions database
- Rural Pact
- Rural Revitalisation Platform
- Smart and start-up villages
- Digital
- Access to services
- Nature and environment
- Transport and mobility
- Governance
- Stronger Rural Areas
- Connected rural areas
- Resilient rural areas
The smart solutions database is an online collection of innovative practices implemented by rural communities across Europe. Developed through the Smart Rural 21 project, it is intended to provide inspiration and practical information for rural communities looking for solutions that can be adapted to their own local needs and circumstances.
Access the resource
Author: Smart Rural 21 project
The database contains more than 60 examples and can be searched by country, free text and thematic area. Its six broad thematic categories – people, economy, living, environment, connectivity and mobility, and governance – are further divided into specific topics. These include education and youth engagement, social inclusion, support for older people, farming and agri-food businesses, entrepreneurship, tourism, healthcare, housing, renewable energy, circular economy and waste management, biodiversity, broadband, transport, digital technologies, community capacity building and public participation.
Examples illustrate the diversity of smart rural solutions. They include activities such as energy self-sufficient village; remote monitoring of older people's health; citizen-run rural bus service; community fibre-optic network; re-use of abandoned rural housing; farmers' markets and online shops; community renewable-energy initiatives; digital education; and rural co-working spaces.
Each solution has a dedicated web page providing practical information about the example. This includes what the solution involves, what makes it innovative or ‘smart’, how it was implemented, the local context, actors involved, resources and investment required, outputs and results, benefits for the community and lessons on what to do – and what to avoid.
Why it is useful for rural areas
The database provides rural communities with concrete examples of solutions already implemented in other rural contexts, helping them explore ideas in response to their own challenges and opportunities.
Importantly, Smart Rural 21 stresses that smart solutions need to be adapted to each community's particular context. The database therefore serves as a source of inspiration rather than a catalogue of ready-made solutions to replicate unchanged. It is also integrated into the Smart Rural 21 roadmap as a resource for communities moving from identifying their needs to finding possible solutions and developing actions.
Who is this resource for?
The database is particularly useful for rural communities and village representatives; local authorities; Local Action Groups and rural development organisations; community organisations; and other stakeholders looking for practical and innovative approaches to rural development.
About the initiative
Smart Rural 21 was a project supported by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). It worked with villages across Europe to develop and implement Smart Village approaches and strategies and facilitate knowledge exchange between rural communities.
News
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