Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RURACTION (Social Enterpreneurship in Structurally Weak Rural Regions: Analysing Innovative Troubleshooters in Action)

Teaser

The RURACTION research and training network focuses on problems in structurally weak rural regions in Europe and on the impact of social entrepreneurship regarding the development of innovative solutions to problems in rural regions. Rural regions are faced with major social...

Summary

The RURACTION research and training network focuses on problems in structurally weak rural regions in Europe and on the impact of social entrepreneurship regarding the development of innovative solutions to problems in rural regions. Rural regions are faced with major social and economic problems. In comparison to ‘predominantly urban’ or ‘intermediate’ regions, ‘predominantly rural’ regions, and particularly structurally weak rural regions, are economically less productive, which finds expression by a low level of gross domestic product. They provide a less extensive scope of desired goods and services, opportunities for higher education and qualified job offers. Not least, they are faced with recurring negative discourses. Against this background the respective regions experience a considerable loss of inhabitants and especially a brain drain of young and highly skilled people.

Facing these problems, the EU has been implementing rural development programmes such as ERDF, EAFRD (including LEADER and, recently, CLLD). However – as shown through international evaluation research focusing on LEADER initiatives – attempts of coordinating joint innovative approaches by local action groups have often been unsuccessful. Strategy papers by the European Commission reveal that the EU considers the following tasks important in the future: “(d)eepening our understanding and knowledge of social innovation” and “strengthening the potential of (…) social entrepreneurship” . Only recently, awareness has grown in the EU that rural regions are important areas for social innovations. Associated with this awareness is the insight that “(r)egional strategies that incorporate social innovation are only beginning to emerge”. Accordingly, the European Commission identifies social innovations in rural regions as one of five desiderata of social innovation research. This research gap is the starting point of the RURACTION network.

The main objectives of RurAction are the following:

- Conducting excellent, interdisciplinary, comparative and cross-regional research in a neglected research field:
enhancing knowledge of the economic, political and cultural conditions rural regions provide for social entrepreneurial action; knowledge of the forms, processes and tools of social entrepreneurial problem solving, of supporting and inhibiting factors; and knowledge of the generation, diffusion and impact of socially innovative approaches that respond to problems in structurally weak rural regions in Europe.

- Qualifying 10 Early Stage Researchers as equally scientifically and practically skilled experts for social entrepreneurship and social innovations in rural regions
be it in order to conduct further research in this complex scientific field, to professionally support and promote social enterprises from within the organisation or as an external consultant, and/or to professionally start their own initiatives and social entrepreneurial organisations.

- Providing knowledge for enhancing action strategies and organising knowledge transfer
to support (i) actors of social entrepreneurial initiatives in rural regions, (ii) policy makers in the field of rural development on the regional (regional authorities), the national (ministries) and the EU level (European Commission), and (iii) to raise public awareness on the regional and national level regarding rural development issues.

Work performed

Conducting excellent, interdisciplinary, comparative and cross-regional research was realised by five actions: Work Package meetings at network-wide events and regional groups in order to achieve an excellent and interdisciplinary research, the elaboration of the project theory and methodology, ESRs presentations at external conferences and symposia and the creation of posters presenting their research aims, first publications.

Qualifying the ESRs of RurAction for a professional career in research but also in practical work was achieved with the creation of the ESRs own personal career development plan, the participation at doctoral colloquiums at the home institutions, but also in network-wide events and external workshops and seminars. Furthermore, the ESRs are fully connected in a network through the creation of international networks with other PhD students (e.g. EMES or Nylon Einstein Research Group) and are beginning their secondments.

Establishing knowledge transfer within the scientific community, the community of social entrepreneurs, for policy makers and for the wider public. This started with the launch of the RurAction website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts (for the wider public), with the launch of the social economy forum “koinsepforum” (for social enterprises, particularly for Greece, but partially also for Europe), and with the development of first contacts to policy makers (e.g. to the most important parliamentary parties in Germany, SPD and CDU, at federal level), but also to the Directorate-General for AGRI on the EU level.

Final results

The expected results of the RURACTION research until the end of the project and potential impacts beyond the state of the art are:

- For the early stage researchers:
excellent expertise in the field of social innovations and social entrepreneurship in rural development; analytical reflexivity; sensitivity for acting in rural regions in different European regions with their specific cultural contexts; practical skills in organising creativity, in generating and implementing innovative approaches, using tools for social entrepreneurial start-ups, networking, fund raising, and collaborating with authorities.

- For the scientific community:
enhanced academic knowledge of conditions and dynamics in structurally weak rural regions; of social innovation processes and the conditions for success in rural regions; of activities and impacts of social entrepreneurship in rural regions; of potentials of social innovations and social entrepreneurship for regional development; methodological tools for a comparative social innovation research.

- For social entrepreneurial initiatives:
enhanced knowledge of social innovation processes and the conditions for success in rural regions, above all of helpful and impeding factors; enhanced knowledge about the impact of their own actions, strengths and weaknesses; against this background, opportunity for improved strategy development with respect to generating and implementing socially innovative solutions in rural regions and thus for successful action.

- For policy makers (rural development on regional, national, EU level):
recommendations for regional authorities with respect to initiating and supporting socially innovative solutions for rural problems; policy recommendations for national ministries and the EU for taking the lead on the respective national and supranational level in promoting social innovation and for programming social innovation in structural funds in order to support social entrepreneurship for rural development.

- For civil society on the regional and national level:
awareness and knowledge of activities and potentials of social entrepreneurship in rural regions; knowledge of creative and innovative initiatives and their success stories in rural regions resulting in a positive identification with the respective region; more confidence in new ideas and practices; being encouraged to engage in rural initiatives.

Website & more info

More info: http://ruraction.eu.