Multi-stakeholder platform for rural entrepreneurs

Despite the diversity of rural areas in terms of their socio-economic performances, natural characteristics, and cultural heritage, the majority of them demonstrates intrinsic fragility in social, economic and environmental aspects. In 2016, OECD defined four areas of opportunity for the rural sector: forestry, local foods, tourism, and renewable energy. Maximizing the opportunities depends on various factors coming together. If one or two of the elements cannot be achieved, there could be stagnation or decline instead of transformation. These discussions underscore the importance of exploiting future opportunities in a manner that addresses rural vulnerabilities. Additionally, they underline the importance of properly addressing the potential of rural business by exploring the expected impacts of entrepreneurial choices, especially in terms of adopted business models and their sustainability in the future. In this context, OREN aimed to tap into the areas of rural opportunities, by promoting a managerialization of rural entrepreneurs while at the same time addressing the main weaknesses of the rural area through the possibility to help them simulate their business models’ expected outcomes, thus reducing business risks.

The main objective of the OREN project was to involve agricultural entrepreneurs in an interactive learning programme; more particularly, the OREN objectives were: - Discover insights and emerging patterns regarding rural business development; this objective has been covered in Project Result 1 (PR1). - Discover and analyze factors (environmental, socio-economic, geographical etc.) that contribute to successful rural businesses; said factors were identified through the activities carried out in PR2. - Analyze the structural elements of rural development, map the relationships that might lead to successful business models, and explore them through simulation with the purpose of identifying potential policies and points of unintended consequences; these activities have been carried out in PR3 - Develop and promote work-based learning for agricultural entrepreneurs with the purpose of increasing their business skills. To achieve such objectives, an e-course has been prepared in PR4, which provides the involved actors with the skills to design effective business models in diverse settings and the tools (theoretical and technical) to implement them appropriately.

The following section details the specific tasks that were carried out in order to achieve each related Project Result (PR). The first Project Result focused on developing a sound understanding of rural business models across Europe and their driving and limiting factors among the project partners and stakeholders. It also harmonized the main findings within a systematic framework that guided research, analysis and piloting in the other project activities. PR1 was elaborated through 5 sub-tasks: - Task 1.1. State of the art analysis: business models in rural economies. - Task 1.2. Analysis of relevant case studies. - Task 1.3. Analysis of existing relevant programs. - Task 1.4: Identification of the stakeholders map - Task 1.5: Development of the OREN observatory The second Project Result consisted in the creation of the theoretical framework and the conceptual models which are the fundamental contents of the simulation-based platform. The results gathered in PR1 were coupled with an activity aimed at defining the peculiar dynamics of the rural economy. In particular, PR2 enabled the understanding of the specific socio-political priorities and demands of rural communities. PR2 was elaborated through 3 sub-tasks: - Task 2.1. Investigation of the socio-political dynamics of community-based rural business models - Task 2.2. Analysis and socialization of results. - Task 2.3. Collaborative model building activity. Project Result 3 dealt with the computational framework (simulation models and interactive learning environment) that can be used to develop real world scenario analysis, virtual real world exercising for improving knowledge and better structuring of the decision-making process of rural entrepreneurs. The computational environment allows the user to understand potential societal and economic impacts of various scenarios. PR3 was elaborated through 2 sub-tasks: - Task 3.1. Multistakeholder platform and Interactive Learning environment development. - Task 3.2. Real-life scenarios identification. Project Result 4 consisted of a set of presentations, case studies, group assignments, group discussions and lectures addressing the following topics: 1) Legislative skills (EU agenda on rural development); 2) Technical skills (rural entrepreneurship; public-private co-creation); 3) Methodological skills (business management); 4) Sociological skills; 5) Entrepreneurial skills and experimentation with the simulation platform. Furthermore, the partnership produced a document reporting analyses of policies, guidelines and recommendations, focusing in particular on strategies that enhance community-based rural development. PR4 was elaborated through 4 sub-tasks: - Task 4.1. Courses objectives and areas identification. - Task 4.2. Production of course materials. - Task 4.3. Analysis of potential rural strategies. - Task 4.4. Production of guidelines for rural entrepreneurs.

The OREN project achieved several concrete outputs and results, in particular: 1. Covered in Project Result 1: a. A survey of the most promising community-based rural business models, analyzing their critical success factors; b. A collection of National reports detailing the findings of the above survey divided per partner country, as well as a Transnational and EU level report; c. An online observatory containing core information and best practices useful for rural entrepreneurs. 2. Covered in Project Result 2: a. A report on the fundamental dynamics explaining the community-based approach elaborated through a collaborative model building approach, addressing: environments and social dynamics, pattern emergence, triggers and catalyzers, risks mapping; b. Two advanced simulation models which detail the key factors of a rural business and the so-called “Dairy-chain”. 3. Covered in Project Result 3: a. A suite of simulation models and an interactive learning environment; b. A platform hosting both the models and the interactive learning environment, streamlining access and orientation for users. 4. Covered in Project Result 4: a. A course composed of 5 complementary modules, with related course materials, provided together and with the support of the decision support system developed in PR3; these address the following topics: (1) Legislative skills (EU agenda on rural development); (2) Technical skills; (3) Methodological skills (mathematical modeling; rural business innovation); (4) Sociological skills; (5) Entrepreneurial skills. Courses were produced in English and all the elaborated material was translated into the partners’ languages as well. These courses have been (and are currently still being) offered fully online. The purpose of the partnership was to engage at least 10 participants from each country. b. Guidelines with respect to rural development strategies; c. Recommendations based on lessons learnt during the project executions, shared during the final conference. 5. A comprehensive dissemination and communication strategy was developed in order to improve the outreach of the project; this included the creation of a visual identity for the project with a logo and color palette, and the development of a project website serving as a central hub for information and e-course access. Newsletters and news articles were produced to update stakeholders on progress, while offline materials such as flyers, infographics and newspaper articles were designed to communicate effectively with target audiences. The project also established lively social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, building a community of more than 100 followers on each platform, with Facebook in particular performing well at over 900 followers. Over 30 manifestation of interest letters were signed by several stakeholders. Additionally, 5 multiplier events were organized to generate interest and media coverage, further disseminating project information. Overall, we estimate that the OREN project, throughout all of its dissemination efforts and channels, has achieved a total outreach of more than 45.000 individuals (See KPI.G6 in the Annexed QA report) from the various target groups (See also the relevant specific section in the present report).