Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• a better understanding of sustainable competitiveness in rural areas is achieved;
• rural communities have better access to services and sustainable business opportunities;
• entrepreneurship, innovation, and skills are promoted in rural communities, particularly among young people, to foster sustainability, competitiveness and digital literacy across various sectors of the rural economy.

Scope:

The projects under this topic are relevant to the EU policies related to the long-term vision for EU’s rural areas, the vision for agriculture and food and its objective to foster fair living and working conditions in vibrant rural areas, climate objectives, as well as the competitiveness compass which, among its three core areas for action, aims at closing the innovation gap for the EU to boost its competitiveness.

Regaining competitiveness is essential to ensuring long-term prosperity in the EU. However, not all territories have equal access to resources and opportunities. Efforts to enhance competitiveness must therefore also prioritise environmental and social sustainability ensuring that neither nature nor people are left behind in the pursuit of economic growth.

Although rural areas often possess natural resources and are essential to support the provision of ecosystem services, they frequently face societal (e.g., declining and ageing populations, social exclusion and inequality) and market failures (e.g., under-provision of essential services, limited access to finance and infrastructure, digital divide, labour market mismatches) that hinder sustainable development, social inclusion, and competitiveness.

Proposals should:

• improve the understanding of the drivers and obstacles of sustainable competitiveness in the contexts of societal and market failures in rural areas, and propose indicators to measure competitiveness that incorporate social and environmental performance;
• support startups and/or businesses led by young^[1] rural entrepreneurs to design, prototype and test sustainable digital, technological, nature-based and/or social solutions to improve access to services and/or create business opportunities in diverse rural settings; in addition, propose mechanisms to share these solutions among rural areas through translocal networks;
• improve access to digital and hybrid education and training for rural communities to acquire new skills and support entrepreneurial mind-sets, in particular among young people, as well as link university graduates with young rural entrepreneurs to share knowledge and possibly create new collaborations;

Proposals may provide financial support to third parties in particular to support start up or businesses. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.

Proposals are expected to build upon already existing results and to search collaboration with the other action funded under this topic and with other relevant projects funded under Horizon Europe. Proposals should include a task and appropriate resources to ensure these collaborations.

Proposals should also allocate appropriate resources to coordinate their work with relevant initiatives developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), particularly in the context of the Rural Observatory and the Startup Village Forum initiative.

This topic requires the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines (e.g., economics, business and administration, education science, gender studies) and the involvement of SSH experts.

Proposals must consider gender in all aspects of project design and implementation, particularly in data analysis, support for start-ups and businesses, the development of solutions, as well as the provision of education and training opportunities.

[1] Indicatively, 'young' is understood to mean up to a maximum of 40 years old.