Social Innovation in Rural Areas of the European Union Learnings from Neo-Endogenous Development Projects in Italy and Spain

Abstract

Within the framework of the LEADER approach to rural development applied in rural areas of the European Union, a high degree of social innovation (SI) has been achieved with the support of public–private partnerships. This research analyzes the different forms of SI achieved in specific projects in marginal rural areas facing depopulation. These initiatives make important, sometimes intangible, contributions to rural society, which are not sufficiently valued in rural development practice. Using an exploratory qualitative methodology, we made a selection of projects carried out in rural areas of Spain and Italy by searching for specific keywords (“innovation”, “entrepreneurship”, and “LEADER”) in the European Network of Rural Development database. According to the typology of promoters, we considered Transnational Cooperation Projects promoted by various Local Action Groups (LAGs), by public sector initiative and by private promoters. In-depth interviews were also conducted. The main findings include: the crucial role played by local leaders, social enterprises and LAGs in overcoming resistance and reluctance amongst the local community to participate in and support rural development projects; the importance of creating collective learning processes; the complexity of the network affects the number of contributions; the need for long-term continuity of processes and projects, and the importance of combining exogenous and endogenous development and knowledge.

“Wanna Be Provoked”: Inner Peripheries Generators of Social Innovation in the Italian Apennine

“…From the rural development perspective, the process dimension of SI (hereafter, the "How") is often highlighted with reference to the so-called bottom-linked governance approach, whose relevance lies in its attempt to combine bottom-up and top-down planning and create a multi-level middle ground, where the actors from different levels and sectors (private sector, public administration, civil society, etc.) come together, interact, and exchange resources [28,42]. Network-related and collaborative dimensions of SI mirrors what was interpreted as crucial for the territorial development of IP, demonstrating that marginal rural areas faced with isolation and a lack of expertise and resources emphasize the external input of capital, expertise, and sources of innovation accessed by networks, stretching beyond the local community; this is a fundamental aspect shaping SI.…”

“…This is why it seems important to recognize that SI is not an aspatial activity, but it is intrinsically linked to the set of territorial resources is rooted in. In other words, the territorial context and the interconnected forms of territorial assets play a relevant role in how SI emerges [28] and explain why social innovation can take diverging development paths and generate different development trajectories in localities, and potentially, beyond them [10]. Accordingly, territorial assets constitute, in their tangible or intangible form, what several researchers have defined as «territorial capital», meaning the set of localized assets-natural, human, artificial, organizational, relational, and cognitive ones-that constitute the competitive potential of a given territory [29,30].…”

“…Network-related and collaborative dimensions of SI mirrors what was interpreted as crucial for the territorial development of IP, demonstrating that marginal rural areas faced with isolation and a lack of expertise and resources emphasize the external input of capital, expertise, and sources of innovation accessed by networks, stretching beyond the local community; this is a fundamental aspect shaping SI. This is the reason why the "Who" of social innovation in inner peripheries is often a multiactor coalition, where local and external actors and intermediaries in collaboration are able to take initiative and make decisions as part of a collective and creative action that also conveys a process of social learning [1,19,28]. Within this context, the authors of reference [43] highlighted that bottom-linked governance spaces can be seen not just as an outcome of social innovation, but more importantly, as a socially innovative space of action, through which the local and external actors' efforts toward addressing major sustainability challenges can be channeled.…”

What Can We Expect for the Development of Rural Areas in Europe?—Trends of the Last Decade and Their Opportunities for Rural Regeneration

“…They are an important factor for rural regeneration and bring together networks and community groups that build social, cultural, environmental, and economic activities and stimulate processes in regions from the bottom up [82]. Rural regeneration can be effective when bottom-up activities (e.g., local knowledge, local resources, and community involvement) and top-down activities (e.g., EU and national policies) are implemented together [81,83,84]. This is in line with the neo-endogenous approach to rural development [83].…”

Competencies and Capabilities for the Management of Sustainable Rural Development Projects in the Value Chain: Perception from Small and Medium-Sized Business Agents in Jauja, Peru

“…The key to success in the face of adversity was uncovered by the LEADER Community Initiative, which is the most representative example of planning and management of sustainable rural development based on the preparation and execution of projects [33,67]. The social innovation promoted by the LEADER Community Initiative [68,69] and the Working With People (WWP) approach [30] has been important for the success of several projects, where the population has played a leading and empowered role in making decisions concerning planning and in the management of the sustainable development of their locality, with a view to achieving the common well-being of the population [70] and good governance [71]. Likewise, the committed participation of universities in accompanying the process of sustainable rural development with human capital formation and technical guidance stands out [29,72].…”