GRANULAR General Assembly 2024

On 19 November 2024, the online general meeting of the GRANULAR project, aimed at advancing data-driven solutions to support rural areas in Europe, took place. The meeting was attended by representatives of the PEF Department of Information Technology, as well as project partners and stakeholders, who evaluated key achievements, discussed challenges and planned next steps for the effective creation of policies adapted to the needs of rural communities.

Rural diversity as a key priority

The focus of the discussions was the Rural Diversity Compass, a framework designed to capture the multifaceted nature of rural areas. This tool considers four dimensions: residential, productive, environmental and recreational. It enables policy makers to assess the impact of their decisions and adapt them to the specific needs of rural communities. At the same time, the compass forms the basis for a rural control methodology that combines stakeholder feedback with quantitative assessment for greater inclusiveness and policy effectiveness.

New Rural Datasets

GRANULAR has made significant progress in creating new datasets focused on key aspects of rural areas such as accessibility, housing markets, land use and tourism trends. These data sets are created in cooperation with research laboratories and data providers, for example OpenStreetMap. The result is useful tools that strengthen the decision-making abilities of rural communities and policy makers.

Future steps and challenges

The project will continue to use its Living Labs to test solutions in real-world conditions and disseminate best practices through Replication Labs. Cross-laboratory visits are planned for 2025, which will support cooperation and the unification of methodologies. Despite ongoing challenges such as data availability, stakeholder engagement and policy gaps, GRANULAR remains committed to empowering rural communities through innovation and knowledge sharing.

The GRANULAR project thus continues to strengthen Europe's rural areas through modern tools, data innovations and intensive collaboration with stakeholders.