Towards a more supportive policy framework for rural business success

On 24 October 2019, partners from the RUBIZMO initiative, funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 Programme to discover the vital ingredients for rural business success, shared their first findings with over 100 European stakeholders, from policy makers to representatives of trade associations and cooperatives, working hard to make rural development a reality across Europe. The event, organised by Greenovate! Europe, took place at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels, under the sponsorship of Sofia Björnsson, member of the Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment.

After presenting the main challenges and opportunities laying ahead, participants were invited to take a look at the current and future policy framework, including the upcoming revision of the Common Agricultural Policy, but also the coordination work performed by the ENRD (European Network for Rural Development) to link European and national stakeholders. The second part of the morning session focused on the analysis of key ingredients to foster the development of supportive business environments for rural business success. This session was also the opportunity to showcase three inspiring examples of local rural development strategies. 

In the afternoon, rural networking was at the centre of discussions. The audience was first invited to discover the networking tool that is being developed by the RUBIZMO project, before focusing on the role of cooperatives in rural entrepreneurship and in particular the rural living lab concept developed by the LIVERUR project. After highlighting the key role of innovation in rural development policies, the conference concluded with the Rural Business Innovation Awards ceremony, that rewarded three of the most inspiring examples of rural business success selected by the RUBIZMO partnership. 

Resources

On this page you will find all the conference resources, including:

- The final agenda of the conference
- The list of participants
- The description of the Awards nominees for the Rural Business Innovation Awards
- The pictures of the conference

Speakers' presentations

All speakers presentations are available below:

- A future vision for modern rural development - Silvia Michelini, Director, European Commission, DG AGRI, Dir. F Rural development II (VIDEO)

- Challenges and opportunities in the transition towards modern rural economies - Justin Casimir, Project Manager, RISE (VIDEO)

- From the European to the national level: the role of the European Network for Rural Development - Laura Jalasjoki, Policy Analyst, European Network for Rural Development (VIDEO)

- Vital ingredients and regional hotspots for rural business success - Philipp Grundmann, Research Scientist, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) (VIDEO)

- Social enterprise as a tool for effective rural development, Ireland - Andrew Forde, Head of Rural Strategy and Social Enterprise Unit, Department of Rural and Community Development, Government of Ireland (VIDEO)

- Bioeconomy: a motor for regional growth, Grand Est region, France - François Werner, Vice President for European policies, Higher education and Research, Grand Est region (VIDEO)

- From oil to new olive-based value chains, Andalusia region, Spain - Francisco Galán, Laboratory technician, PhD in Chemistry, Oleícola El Tejar (VIDEO)

- Tools and recommendations to foster rural networking - Gerhard Schiefer, Professor, ProQuantis (VIDEO)

- The role of cooperatives in rural business development - Umberto di Pasquo, Senior Policy Advisor, COPA-COGECA (VIDEO)

- Creating new entrepreneurial ecosystems through rural living labs - David Christopher Heiser, Head of Unit and Finance Officer, Catholic University San Antonio of Murcia (UCAM) (VIDEO)

- Why innovation is needed to make rural development a reality: the importance of business innovation in shaping the rural areas of tomorrow - Alexia Rouby, Research Programme Officer, European Commission, DG AGRI, Dir. B2, Research and Innovation (VIDEO)

- Awards for the Food category - introduced by Rebeca Fernandez, Director Food Policy, Science and R&D, FoodDrinkEurope (VIDEO)

- Awards for the Bio-based value chains category - introduced by Eleni Zika, Head of Programme, Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (VIDEO)

- Awards for the Ecosystem services category - introduced by Meera Ghani, Policy coordinator, European Network for Community-led Initiatives on climate change and sustainability (VIDEO)

- The RUBIZMO virtual library: inspiration for rural businesses - Bénédicte Julliard, Project manager, Greenovate! Europe (VIDEO)