On 19 November 2024, the GRANULAR General Assembly convened online to assess progress and set priorities for advancing data-driven solutions to support rural areas across Europe. The event gathered project partners and stakeholders to review key achievements, address challenges, and outline the next steps in shaping policies and tools tailored to rural needs.
From rural diversity to policy action
Central to the discussions was the Rural Diversity Compass, a framework designed to capture the multifaceted nature of rural areas. By focusing on residential, productive, environmental, and recreational dimensions, the compass helps policymakers evaluate the impact of their decisions on rural communities. It forms the basis for a rural proofing methodology, which combines stakeholder feedback with quantitative assessments to refine policies for greater inclusivity.
The assembly also highlighted significant progress in addressing gaps in rural data. GRANULAR has developed new datasets on critical topics such as accessibility, housing markets, land use, and tourism trends. These efforts, supported by collaborations with research labs and data providers like OpenStreetMap, aim to equip rural communities and policymakers with actionable insights.
A collaborative path forward
GRANULAR will continue leveraging its Living Labs to test and adapt data-driven solutions in real-world contexts while scaling these approaches through Replication Labs. The project also plans labs cross-visits in 2025 to strengthen collaboration and align methodologies.
Despite challenges, including data availability, stakeholder engagement and policy gaps, the meeting reinforced the project’s commitment to empowering rural communities and informing policies through innovative tools and knowledge sharing.
A GRANULAR Knowledge Transfer Accelerator webinar on “Data for rural areas: towards smarter rural policies” will be held on 5 December from 11:00 to 12:30 CET. The session will highlight the importance of accurate, accessible, and granular data in shaping effective rural development policies across the EU. It will also introduce innovative methods to improve rural data collection and analysis. Registrations are open here.
