Uncategorised – Page 7 – SIMRA Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas

Enhancing Innovation in Rural Areas: The Experience from Scotland

28 June 20186th September 2018Lucía Lopez MarcoLeave a comment

On Thursday 7 June 2018, a workshop on how to enhance innovation in Scottish rural areas was organised and hosted by the Scottish Representation to the European Union in Brussels and in which SIMRA partners Euromontana and James Hutton Institute participated. The focus was on examining the Scottish perspective on Rural Innovation and looking forward with the recent launch of the Rural Innovation Support Service (RISS) – a Scottish Rural Network initiative. This workshop offered a follow-up to the 11^th OECD Rural Development Conference in Edinburgh in April.

Social innovation in the Balkans: a new SIMRA brochure of examples now available

7 June 20186th September 2018Lucía Lopez MarcoLeave a comment

brochure_balkans SIMRA has just released its third brochure collecting examples of social innovation in marginalised rural areas in the Balkan peninsula.

The focus of the SIMRA project is on the European Union and the Mediterranean area, including the Balkan Peninsula in South-East Europe which includes both countries which are Member States of the EU along with some of those identified in the EU Western Balkans Strategy.

Workshop: Social Innovation in rural areas in Scotland

24 May 20186th September 2018Lucía Lopez MarcoLeave a comment

31 May, 9.30am to 4pm

at James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH

for anyone interested in Scotland’s rural areas

In fields as diverse as community land ownership, social care, social housing provision, cultural services and environmental projects, social innovation is driving place-based rural development. In the context of the SIMRA research project, the James Hutton Institute is researching how social innovation arises, what drives its success and how it can address challenges in marginal rural areas. Come, discuss and network with a community of practitioners working on social innovation.

Social innovation as a driver for rural innovation – highlights from the OECD conference

27 April 20186th September 2018Lucía Lopez MarcoLeave a comment

The 11^th OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Rural Development Conference was held in Edinburgh on 9-12 April 2018. Prior to the main conference, a series of interactive sessions, led by the European Network for Rural Development, showcased projects and approaches already launched by rural communities to face 21^st century challenges and opportunities.

EIP-Agri SIMRA profile

25 April 201825th April 2018Lucía Lopez MarcoLeave a comment

The SIMRA project has completed its profile on the EIP-Agri website. Check it out here! Our profile sets out the objectives of SIMRA and details of our activities, while giving our team a new way to share what we do with others and make sure we are aware about other relevant projects.

Smart Villages: For a Smarter Future of Rural areas

24 April 20186th September 2018Lucía Lopez MarcoLeave a comment

On 13th April 2018 in Bled, Slovenia, a joint conference between the European Commission and the European Parliament was organised on “European Action for Smart Villages: for a brighter future of rural areas in the EU” (for more information and to see the streaming of the plenary session, click here).

This high-level conference shows an appetite for Smart Villages to be developed in the future programming period and the wish to put the concept into practice, as shown in Slovenia. If an EU project is currently developing a proper definition for Smart Villages (our blog post here), several high-level speakers shared their views about this concept and how to develop it in the coming months.

Smart Villages: Participate in the consultation on the definition and share your good practices

20 April 20186th September 2018Lucía Lopez MarcoLeave a comment

The concept of “Smart Villages” is gaining more and more attention at EU level and is likely to play a role in future policy. In light of this, a Pilot Project has been launched on smart eco-social villages or “Smart Villages” in short. The aim of the Pilot Project is to explore strategies to become a “Smart Village” and refine a definition to clarify what a “Smart Village” is or can be.