On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, the regular meeting of the general assembly of the international research project took place. GRANULAR. The online meeting of more than 30 experts from partner organizations focused on taking stock of the results achieved so far and coordinating activities for the last six months of the project. As the end approaches, the teams' attention is shifting to finalizing key outputs that will serve European Commission as a basis for future rural development strategies.

The Department of Information Technology (KIT) plays a significant role within the consortium, especially within the working group WP4: Development of tools and indicators to characterize rural diversity under the leadership of the institution NordRegio. Together, they focus on developing tools, indicators and a new typology for characterizing the diversity, resilience and socio-economic conditions of rural areas across the EU. The research itself has been ongoing since the end of 2022 and is creating datasets and reports on rural resilience, food systems and quality of life. The research plan of the Department of Information Technologies focuses on the analysis of correlations between the price level of real estate and migration trends of the population towards the countryside with the aim of determining to what extent the price level influences rural development. The aim of this investigation is to verify the hypothesis about the degree of influence of housing price policy on the socio-economic development of rural areas based on publicly available data and to try to extend this statement to EU countries. In cooperation with other partners, the department is preparing a comprehensive study that precisely assesses the significance of individual determinants and their impact on the future stability of the countryside. More detailed information on the researched issue is described in the contribution published in the current issue of the newsletter and the project website GRANULAR.

In addition to the formal monitoring of milestones, the March meeting also included an interactive section (networking) focused on collective discussion and sharing of good practice. Through the Live Poll tool in the block called "Share your GRANULAR story", participants reflected on their experiences and discussed the limits of the research and recommendations from the European Commission through live polling. These experiences complement the hard data of the entire project in a valuable way.

The GRANULAR project is now entering its final phase, with its outputs aspiring to become a methodological basis for future decision-making processes in the field of European rural policy. The outputs and results of the project will be presented at the final conference, which will take place on 24-25 June 2026 at the Fondation Universitaire in Brussels.