Preparatory Action on Smart Rural Areas in the 21st Century

What is the project about?

The ‘Smart Rural’ project is a two and a half-year project coordinated by E40 Group and supported by the European Commission (DG AGRI) with the overall aim to promote and inspire villages to develop and implement smart village approaches and strategies across Europe, and to draw conclusions and support future CAP interventions on smart villages.

17 villages are selected across Europe to receive guidance and technical support through the project. 5 villages have already been selected in Ireland, Finland, France, the Czech Republic and Greece, and further 12 villages will be selected across Europe.

Is our village an ideal candidate?

Your village is an ideal candidate if it:

• Needs support, ideas and inspiration to become a smart village
• Has enthusiastic leaders who are committed to develop and implement a smart village strategy
• Has the relevant human capacity to mobilise for the smart village process
• Would benefit from specific expert guidance to progress with village development plans
• Ideally has some basic technical capacity , including sufficient broadband connectivity or relevant infrastructure (e.g. community spaces) – although this is not a pre-condition
• Ideally has some initial ideas, flagship projects or planning activities done that the smart village process can build on – although this is not a pre-condition
• Is open to knowledge exchange and cooperation with other villages and stakeholders

What do you get if selected?

• Specialist expert support for strategy development & implementation
• You can visit and get inspiration from other villages
• You can take part in exchange and capacity building with other participant villages through the Smart Village Academy events
• Your village will gain visibility in European-level discussions and exchanges

If you think your village is ready to undertake an exciting smart village journey, then apply until 11 May 2020 to become one of the participant villages in the Smart Rural Project!

More information here.

Interested villages can apply (as during the proposal phase) through the following link: https://form.jotformeu.com/E40/smart-rural-application.