Thematic Group
Smart and Competitive Rural Areas
Draft Scoping Paper
November 2015
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Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................3
2.
Smart and Competitive Rural Areas: Background ..........................................................................4
1.
Needs and Objectives .................................................................................................................. 4
2.
Rural Development Tools for adding value ................................................................................. 5
3.
Smart Farming ............................................................................................................................. 6
4.
Smart Supply Chains .................................................................................................................... 7
5.
Smart Villages .............................................................................................................................. 7
6.
Overall Approach to the thematic group. ................................................................................... 8
3.
Working methods and expected contribution from Members ......................................................9
4.
Expected outcomes and their dissemination .............................................................................. 10
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Introduction
The theme of Smart and Competitive Rural areas was identified during the first year of delivery
of the ENRD Contact Point 2014-2020, and refined through the Steering Group of June 2015.
This thematic group will concentrate on the strategies and tools available for enabling
different types of rural areas to be economically competitive while at the same time
preserving their natural resources and social cohesion. This requires an ability to reach new
markets and attract new clients while being able to adapt to change and have the resilience
to withstand external shocks in a rapidly evolving world.
The theme links to priorities P2 “Empowering advisory services – Knowledge transfer –
Broader innovation” and P3 “Local food – Short Supply Chain – Rural-urban partnership –
Small farms”. The theme also links to areas identified through other research such as the need
for improved rural broadband and digital services, and to farm modernisation and improved
rural tourism.
This paper sets out the background to the thematic group and proposes a delivery ‘toolkit’
for bringing about change through the use of Rural Development measures and through
networking. The overall approach to the theme is identified in this paper, but it is expected
that this will be further refined when the group meets.
Smart and Competitive Rural Areas is a broad theme, which covers a wide range of topics such
as markets, business improvement, skills, funding and rural connectivity. It therefore links to
a wide range of delivery both within the sphere of rural development such as the EIP-AGRI
focus group on short supply chains and on precision farming, but also to other policy areas
and workstreams within the European Commission. So it will be necessary to focus the activity
of the thematic group on topics where it is possible to add value to what has already been
done in the past by other projects, and on those measures and interventions where there are
most opportunities for change.
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2. Smart and Competitive Rural Areas: Background
The thematic groups’ priority development areas have been informed through a number of
inputs:
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The recommendations of, the RN Assembly and Steering Group meetings and
discussions at NRN meetings
Input from MAs, NRNS and stakeholders via thematic groups
A preliminary review of ongoing activities of external stakeholders
A review of RDP priorities
Feedback from the European Commission
Consideration has also been given to the priorities of “The New Start for Europe”1
specifically looking at rural broadband and jobs & growth.
As a result of these discussions we propose that the TG should cover the following broad fields:
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Smart Agriculture
Smart Supply Chains
Smart Villages
1. Needs and Objectives
It is important to consider the overall requirements of producers, and in this consideration has
been taken of the main recommendations from the Rural Network Assembly and Steering
Group, where focus was on three specific areas directly relevant to this Thematic Group:
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Empowering advisory services, knowledge transfer and broader innovation
Local foods, short supply chain, rural-urban partnerships and small farms
Multi-fund approaches
In addition to this, one other relevant theme raised within the Assembly and Steering Group
was in considering Pillar 1- Pillar 2 linkages, and where other projects have delivered actions
that relate to the topics identified, such as in developing smart specialisation, ICT use and the
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A New Start for Europe, Jean Claude Juncker, 15 July 2014, http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/docs/pg_en.pdf
experience economy. Other topics will be identified and prioritised by Thematic Group
members
2. Rural Development Tools for adding value
One of the aims will be to create a toolkit composed of the tools and measures within rural
development that are available to support smart and competitive rural areas. It is proposed
that the Thematic Group will focus on those components which have the greatest opportunity
of achieving change. The toolkit will provide examples of the measures and focus areas and
on developing interventions which are most appropriate to ensure continued market and
infrastructure development. The toolkit will be broken down into a series specific areas of
intervention capable of having a major impact on the competiveness of rural areas:
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Digital services and rural broadband (supported by basic services and village renewal)
Knowledge development support (knowledge transfer, advisory services, cooperation)
Investment support (investment in physical assets, other funding)
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Digital Services and Rural Broadband
One of the key areas will be using technology to develop markets, and the appropriate online,
mobile and smart tools available to access these markets, and the linkages necessary to target
specific visitor groups, including local urban populations.
The development of tools for the rural sector in accessing markets includes the ability to
compete to attract the modern consumer, and this approach includes the uptake of
technological resources or digital tools and the ability to access broadband connections.
A number of Good Practices now exist in the development of rural broadband2, and examples
also of the desire to improve access to broadband exist across the EU-28. In order to
effectively compete for consumers, rural businesses will need to have the appropriate
connections, but also be up to date with the appropriate tools used and taken up by
consumers, in an area crowded with suppliers including social media training.
The use of technology or even leading edge techniques and early stage adoption should be
highlighted where it can impact on competitiveness, and this will be the focus in considering
the toolkit available for rural areas. There are also opportunities to develop smart agriculture
through precision farming, GPS, data collection and drone monitoring which can be explored.
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2
Including the European Commission’s Guide to High Speed Broadband Investment 2014
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Knowledge development support
Underpinning all of the strands for smart, competitive rural areas will be the ability of support
services and networks to develop co-operation, stimulate uptake of technologies, and to have
the skills to offer support in the development of technologies and support. The successful
deployment of the M16 for cooperation could play a major role, and is anticipated to be a
major focus area.
Advisory services will be an important resource in this area, and the opportunities offered
within RDPs to develop these areas. Knowledge development and research must also be
considered, including the work of EIP.
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Investment support
Alongside soft measures for knowledge development it is important to design packages of
investment support involving various RDP measures, financial instruments and even EFSI
funds. Multi-fund approaches should be a strong consideration in illustrations provided. The
TG can identify good practices related to the needs of different types of rural areas. Focus on
outcomes will include consideration of jobs and growth
3. Smart Farming
Considerable research has been undertaken on the opportunities available to rural producers
to improve competitiveness3. For primary agriculture this involves considering the tools to
develop comparative advantage through applications of available technology in rural areas.
This may be through Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), sensor technology, and drone
monitoring or automated processes, among others. This is usually defined as Precision
Farming, and therefore linked to reductions in environmental impacts while improving
profitability.
Smart farming also means accessing information, whether through ICT or in direct advice
through advisory systems to increase yields and performance. This can identify solutions for
improvement in efficiency and meeting market demand, and can also include consideration
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Economic competitiveness: ability of the players involved to create and retain maximum added value in the
area by strengthening links between sectors and by turning their combined resources into assets for enhancing
the value and distinctiveness of their local products and services;
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rur/leader2/rural-en/biblio/com-soc/pre.htm
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of cooperation advantages both within producer groups and with other elements of the supply
chain.
4. Smart Supply Chains
Smart supply chain strategies involve responding effectively to appropriate markets that rural
producers can access and putting in place all the steps that help them reach those markets. It
is essentially about vertical integration around promising supply chains. Research on
competitiveness has also identified the needs to develop markets4. In the previous
programming period (2007-2013) this has identified a number of opportunities for further
intervention such as:
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Co-operative development (sectoral and regional)
Improving routes to market, including distribution and technology; creating smart
supply chains
Specific opportunities such as Public Procurement and the continued development of
the foodservice sector
There are opportunities, and clearly indicated interest from stakeholders in developing these
strands. In the case of co-operative development, the growth in shorter supply chains has led
to both formal and informal co-operatives emerging to develop their markets.
The clear emerging area in this is Public Food. Initiatives in previous research has focussed on
accessing school markets5, but new activity in this area focuses on other markets which are
under public authority contracts – hospitals, prisons, airports and other public building. The
continuing improvement in the accessibility of these markets thanks to pilot initiatives
spreading to other areas in countries such as France, the UK, Sweden and Slovenia means that
producers can target individual premises such as an airport or prison, rather than being bound
to a larger supply contract. The various models can be explored, including the ‘disaggregation
of contracts’ which allows for tender lots to be split into smaller packages, so that producers
do not have to supply the full range of produce required.
5. Smart Villages
The focus in this area will be on the different measures and tools that can be used to attract
consumers to rural areas, creating “smart villages “which are connected and promoted to their
4
These are referred to in Error! Reference source not found., but include projects such as Compete, and
Glamur under FP7
7 the research undertaken in Foodlinks
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Including pilot initiatives such as Agrilocal in France and
external environments., This builds on work in creating rural destinations. Whereas the last
section dealt primarily the steps linking producers to markets along vertical supply chains, this
deals more with horizontal connections between firms
New market development areas of specific interest are in attracting urban populations
through the high interest level in food provenance, and the opportunities provided for
transformation of activities based on building regional destinations, trails and added value
activity6. Consideration will be given to where market demand can be increased for rural
activity by making them attractive locations for leisure, work, retirement, bringing up children
and so on.
This goes with and beyond local food, and the development of on-farm activity and
diversification. This includes activity, trails and accommodation, and how clusters of the rural
sector can develop themselves as destinations both locally and internationally. Rural tourism
and the ability for areas to drive visitors from residential economies can also be topics for
consideration. One specially promising field of activity which could become the main subject
for a TG meeting concerns how broadband and information technology can also add value to
rural sectors. This includes issues such as smart farming, GPS data, and digitised machinery,
how modernisation is approached in different regions and countries, smart villages and so on
6. Overall Approach to the thematic group.
The TG will organise a series of up to four workshops. The first workshop will look at the rural
development tools available, and try identify those that can have most impact on smart and
competitive rural areas. On this basis it will agree the priorities for the following workshops.
Thereafter the workshops could focus on a promising topic within each of the broad strategies
mentioned earlier.
The toolkit of support services could be both an input to the process, as well as an output to
be disseminated. The workshops would then focus on market areas which can be targeted
through the support of the wider ENRD.
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Research including the JRC Technical Report “Smart Specialisation and Innovation
in Rural Areas”
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3. Working methods and expected contribution from Members
The work of the Thematic Group is based on the active exchange of views, knowledge and
experience among its members and the development of analysis, proposed actions, initiatives
and solutions. This is mainly done through participating in face-to-face meetings,
contributing to specific tasks and taking part in online discussions.
The ENRD Contact Point supports and animates the work of the Group by:
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hosting, designing and facilitating discussions and activities;
analysing and presenting information both independently collected and provided by
the TG members;
formalising the outcomes of the group’s work in meeting reports, discussion papers,
final reports;
disseminating the results of the TG at the EU level.
A commitment to active participation by the TG members is an essential prerequisite for
membership of the Thematic Group. This is essential to progress the work and achieve
concrete, relevant and applicable outcomes. In particular, members are expected to:
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commit to attending the meetings of the Group and participate in its activities;
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share their experiences, specifically with regards to main challenges and opportunities
for the effective implementation of RDPs;
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bring concrete examples, relevant practices or approaches they have knowledge about
or are dealing with, especially those that can hold a potential for learning or can
suggest effective ways to deal with recognised bottlenecks;
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if necessary, provide evidence and data to support background analysis and
recommendations;
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contribute to review interim outcomes, providing suggestions and recommendations
for improvements and contribute to make the TG work relevant to stakeholders’ needs
and result-oriented;
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ensure – as far as possible – continuity in meetings and exchanges in-between
meetings, reacting to discussions and contributing to the flow of information among
members;
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inform and disseminate the knowledge gained among their organisations and invite
those interested to join/contribute to the work of the TG
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use and disseminate more broadly the outcomes of the TG work.
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4. Expected outcomes and their dissemination
The main outcomes for this Thematic Group are best couched in terms of its overall theme
and objective; ‘Smart and Competitive Rural Areas’ and ‘maximising the added value that the
RDPs can create’.
If the transition is to be promoted effectively and progress is to be made it is vital that these
outcomes are disseminated effectively via the outputs of the Group, that is to say the
messages have to be sufficiently clearly communicated, received and understood in order that
they may be implemented. Some of these will be delivered during the lifespan of the Thematic
Group whilst others will be focused more on the longer term.
This therefore implies careful consideration of the nature, means and targeting of this
dissemination. This will be a primary consideration for the working group and as such an
integral part of the whole work package. These outputs and outcomes will therefore emerge
as a result of the work of the group and the nature of these cannot be pre-empted at this
preparatory stage.
The main outcomes expected therefore take the form the conclusions, recommendations,
examples and illustrations of how RDPs and their supported actions can contribute to this
transition. The main outputs will be those products and activities through which these
outcomes will be pursued. Indicatively these may be expected to include:
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An enhanced knowledge and evidence base;
Examples of relevant and transferable good practices;
Publications and other communications, including both dedicated materials and
contributions to other ENRD and partner materials;
Contributions to the Rural Networks Assembly, its subgroups and other EU,
stakeholder and Member State events;
The development of a cluster and / or community of practice / interest;
The establishment of links and joint working with other networks and initiatives
(including specifically the EIP Focus Groups); and
An ENRD seminar.
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