Vital Rural
AreaisaEuropeanco-operationproject(2009-2014),comprising13projectpartnersfromsixNorthSeacountries,focusedonthestrengtheningofruralareas.ThecentralpartoftheprojectisformedbytheRural
Power
Pack,ageneralworkingmethodforsustainableregionaldevelopmentcreatedwithalargenumberofbestpracticepilotcasestudies.ThisRural
Power
PackprovidesaninteractivetoolboxtobeappliedinotherregionsthroughouttheEU27.
The main goal of the Vital Rural Area project is to
developtransnational strategies to strengthen regional rural
areasby finding new and innovative solutions to three main
socio-economicalproblems,encounteredinmostruralareas:lackofeconomicdevelopmentandinnovation,negativeorinsufficientregionalpromotionanddownsizingoftheleveloraccessibilityofservicesandamenities.Theseproblemswereconvertedintothreemainchallenges:1.
TheempowermentofSMEstowardsneweconomic
prospectsandinnovations2.
brandingofregionsforprofessionalmarketing3.
optimisingservices,formoreandbetteraccessibleservices
andamenities
Vital Rural Area’s 43 projects focused on one of these
threemainissues,andcoveredoneormoreoftheseseventhemes:
Theprojectsevolved intobestpracticepilotcasestudies
thathavebeendiscussedandimprovedandsometimestestedandimplementedinotherVitalregions.
The Co-operative Agreement Approach was used as anorganisation
and process instrument that ensured
thesustainableimplementationofprojectresults.
Developed alongside the delivery of ‘best practice’
projectresults, the Rural Power Pack is an integral and
generalworkingmethod,thatcanbeappliedinmanysituationswherecommonly
encountered problems or challenges are faced.
Itconsistsofaproblemsolvingmethodologyincludingpracticaltoolsandinstruments.
THE RURAL POWER PACK
In Norway our partners are Rogaland Fylkeskommune
inStavangerandFinnøyKommune.TheyspecializeinseveraloftheVitalthemes,mostdominantlyinWellbeingandLifestyle,Broadband
implementation and applications, and brandingand profiling issues.
The Lifestyle coaching project is
asuccessfulincubatorprojectwithinthethemeWellbeingandLifestylethathasbeenhighlightedinNorwegianmediaandtransferredtootherNorwegianregions.
DISSEMINATION OF PROJECT RESULTS AND PARTNER SEARCH Our project
results and experiences are now
beingdisseminatedthroughoutotherregionsandEU-countries.Wearesearchingfornewregionalpartnerswhocancontributetheir
experiences and ideas to improve our knowledge
onspecificsubjectsandtheRural Power
Pack.Tofacilitatethisprocesswehaveintroduced‘country
pages’onourwebsite,maintained by the partners. A Virtual Meeting
Room,containing a Skype conference facility, a live stream
forconnecting partners and a social media corner,
facilitatingwebinarsandmasterclassesisnowunderconstruction.
UPCOMING
WEBINARSUpcomingwebinarsusingtheVirtualMeetingRoomwillbelaunchedinearly2014andfocusonthefollowing:1.
The Innovation Houseconceptintroducingnewpartners
working focused on stimulating and connecting
youngentrepreneurs
(SimonSimonsen,[email protected])2. Webbased coaching programme
for Lifestyle improvement.
Healthyageingbypersonalcoachingtoimprovehealthandlifestyle.
(EliVitenandHelgaIdsøKloster,[email protected];[email protected])
3. Broadband implementation and applications. InseveralVital
regions there is a vast experience on broadbandimplementation. We
are now investigating futureperspectives on optimal use of the
broadband facility(services,care,education,entrepreneurship)
(SimonSimonsen,[email protected]).
Weinviteyoutojoinusintheseactivities.Donothesitatetocontactoneofustoshareyourknowledge
EDUCATION BROADBAND & DIGITAL SERVICESSME
EMPOWERMENTGOOD
GOVERNANCECOMMUNITY
BUILDINGWELLBEING &
LIFESTYLEPROFILING &
BRANDING
LOCAL/REGIONAL APPROACH
BEST PRACTICE PROJECTS
- Lessons learned / experiences- Applicabillity check-
Sustainability check- Extension Of Knowledge By Exchange
THEMES AND CONTENTS
WORK PACKAGES1. SME EMPOWERMENT2. BRANDING3. SERVICES
THEMESEducationBroadband & Digital ServicesSme
EmpowermentGood GovernanceCommunity BuildingWellbeing &
lifestyleProfi le & Branding
METHODOLOGY
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT APPROACH
KEY PROJECTS
1. PROBLEM ANALYSIS2. PROPOSED SOLUTIONS3. EXECUTION OF
PROJECT4. EXPERIENCES / RESULTS
1. PROBLEMS/CHALLENGES2. SOLUTIONS3. BARRIERS4. TOOLS
PRESENTATION
www.vitalruralarea.eu
INTERREG IV-B PROJECT VITAL RURAL AREA
Dr. Peter Laan, Project manager Vital Rural Area is
anexperiencedprojectmanagerandruralexpert,whohasbeenworking with
EU-programming including LEADER for more
than20years.InVitalRuralArea,Peter-togetherwiththepartnership-developedtheRuralPowerPackanditsmethodologyandisresponsibleforthedisseminationoftheproject.Peter.laan@faro-advies.nl;+31642288961
PROJECT MANAGER VITAL RURAL AREA
INTERREG IV-B PROJECT VITAL RURAL AREA
www.vitalruralarea.eu
INSPIRING EXAMPLES LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERS AND CONNECTION TO
OTHER RURAL WORKERS
1. THE INNOVATION HOUSE
http://vitalruralarea.eu/sme-empowerment/24-sme-empowerment-and-enterpreneurship/55-37innovation-house
2. WEBBASED COACHING PROGRAMME FOR LIFESTYLE IMPROVEMENT
http://vitalruralarea.eu/wellbeing-lifestyle/27-wellbeing-and-lifestyle/87-webbased-coaching-programme-for-lifestyle-improvement
3. BROADBAND-APPLICATIONS
http://vitalruralarea.eu/broadband-digital-services/23-broadband-and-digital-services/138-20broadband-and-digital-services
Rural Power Pack methodology
PROBLEMS/CHALLENGES Lackofjobs,education,ambitionandpower
SOLUTIONS Aconcept/placetosupportSMEsandentrepreneurs
BARRIERS Cultureandhabits,politicsandtiming
Moneyforinvestment
TOOLS SWOTanalysisforpreparation
CasestudiesfromotherInnovationHouses
Rural Power Pack methodology
PROBLEMS/CHALLENGES
Ageingsociety,increaseoflifestylerelatedillnesses,lackofservice,infrastructureandaccesstoICT
SOLUTIONS Lifestylecourseforinhabitants(ICTbased)
Attention,communicationandPR Improvedinfrastructure
Multidisciplinaryworkinggroups
BARRIERS LackofInfrastructureandICTaccess
History,cultureandhabits
TOOLS
Interactivewebsitefacilitatinglifestyleimprovement:www.livsstil.finnoy.no
Rural Power Pack methodology
PROBLEMS/CHALLENGES Lackofinfrastructure,services,education
SOLUTIONS Fibrenetwork(FTTH)toeverybody
Digitalservices,trainingprogrammes
BARRIERS Politics,regulations,(changeof)cultureandhabits
Money(missingbroadbandinvestment)
TOOLS EU’s‘GuidetoBroadbandinvestment’ Business-casetool
The main objective of the Innovation House concept is for it to
bean incubator to stimulate and support SME empowerment and
entrepreneurship. The general idea is to gather different SMEs
andentrepreneursininspiringsurroundings,collaboratingwithasupportingandinspiringstaff.Enterprisesinthehousewillhaveadistinctsenseofcommunityandmustbewilling
toestablish
linkswitheachother,butenterprisesoutsidearewelcometousetheservicesaswell.
The InnovationHousecannotexactlybecopied
fromoneplaceoronecountrytoanother,butanumberofkeyelementscanbeidentifiedand
Servicingahealthylifestyleisessentialtowellbeingandhealthylivinginruralareas.Itcontributesdirectlytothequalityoflife.Bothpreventionandcareare
importantchallengestodealwith.
Inruralareasspecificproblemsaremorestringentbecauseofdistancetopublicandprivateservicesandsometimesalsotoalackofambitionsandprospects.
Abestpracticeproject,performedthroughouttheFinnøyIslandsusinghighspeedbroadbandfacilitiesandpersonalcoaching,showedaclearcutpositiveresultofan8weekcoachingprogrammeinchanginglifestyle.
Sincedistanceisalwaysakeyissueinruralareas,lackoffastbroadbandconnection
is considered to be a major challenge for future growth,development
and settlement in rural areas. Networks based on fibretechnology
are therefore supposed to be a necessity to keep up
lifequalityandcompanyperspectivesinthenearfuture.
TheVitalprojectperformed inVejenhasbecomea
leadingexampleofbroadband application in Denmark and is mentioned
as an exampleofbestpracticeby theEU-Commission.Next to
that,otherbroadband
combinedinalocalsetting.Oneelementisahousewithdifferentsizedoffices,meetingfacilitiesandonemeetingroomequippedwithsupportforidea-generationandcreativity.
The original concept, developed in Vejen Kommun, was
introducedand implemented in the Vital region of Lauwersland
(Friesland, theNetherlands) and in Rogaland (Norway) in 2012 and
2013 and we
arenowsearchingfornewpartnerswhohaveexperienceinthisfieldandarewillingtosharethiswithus.
Theresultsofthisprojectarenowspreadandappliedinotherregionsin
Norway and also offer opportunities for other partners
throughoutEurope.WearenowsearchingfornewpartnerswhoworkinthefieldofHealthyAgeingandlifestyleimprovement.
projectsbyVitalRuralAreapartnershavebeeninspiredbyexperiencefromtheDanishproject,andintheVitalRuralAreaproject,broadbandand
ICT-applications have been the basis for many different
pilotactivities.Theactualchallengeistodevelopandimplementnewapplicationsforfastbroadbandinservices,careissues,andeducation.Thetimeisripetocapitaliseonthefacilitiesthatcanbenefitfromfastbroadband,resultinginsavingmoneyforlongerperiodsandthereforeopeningopportunitiestomaintainanddevelopqualityandaccessibilityofbasicservices.
2014-01-30T11:17:01+0100Preflight Ticket Signature
