The General Assembly of the GRANULAR project – Giving Rural Actors Novel data and re-Useable tools – officially began on 27 May 2025 in Ourense, Spain, bringing together partners from across Europe to advance a shared mission: equipping rural areas with better data, indicators, and tools to support climate neutrality and socio-economic resilience.
PREPARE AISBL is proud to be represented at this important gathering by Miodrag Matavulj, reaffirming our commitment to collaborative, evidence-based policymaking that reflects the real and diverse needs of rural communities.
Hosted at the University of Vigo’s Ourense campus, the meeting opened with a warm welcome from the Vice Director of the university, who introduced the academic hub serving as the venue for this year’s assembly.
In his opening address, Tristan Berchoux, project coordinator from CIHEAM-IAMM, outlined the core objectives guiding GRANULAR’s work:
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Better capturing the diversity of rural areas through disaggregated data
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Understanding rural dynamics in real time, with a focus on local-level change
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Creating practical, reusable tools for more informed and adaptive policymaking
The assembly serves as both a progress review and a strategic planning session, as the project team continues to refine methodologies and co-create solutions that will benefit rural policymakers, practitioners, and communities alike.
PREPARE looks forward to contributing our field experience and network insights to help ensure that GRANULAR outcomes are relevant, inclusive, and ready for real-world application.
Stay tuned as we continue working together to deliver smarter, data-informed solutions for rural Europe.