PREPARE Partnership for Rural Europe organised an online Innovation Café: Rural Innovation in Practice on 20 May 2026, connected to the FUTURAL Horizon project.
The event brought together rural innovation initiatives, research perspectives, community examples and governance approaches from different European contexts. The aim was to explore how innovation can be better supported in rural, remote and peri-urban territories, and how good practices can be adapted to local ecosystems.
The event included contributions from NEXUS Community Creative Center in North Macedonia, PARI – PAths for Rural Innovation, SMART ERA, and FUTURAL. The examples showed that rural innovation is not only about technology. It is also about people, capacities, community spaces, governance, cooperation, long-term support and the ability to connect local needs with wider European knowledge and funding opportunities.
NEXUS Community Creative Center presented its experience from Radovish, North Macedonia, where a local hub has grown into a space for digital skills, entrepreneurship, STEM education, podcast production, co-working and community support. The initiative has hosted 147 workshops and events, welcomed 1,783 unique visitors, supported women in rural environments through digital literacy training, and created a space where young people, freelancers, NGOs and local actors can build skills and opportunities in a rural setting.
PARI focused on Clusters for Social and Ecological Innovation as place-rooted networks bringing together social economy actors, local governments, businesses, research institutions and citizens. The project presented examples from Spain, Portugal and Sweden, highlighting how rural territories can build collaborative structures that improve quality of life, strengthen local economies and protect natural environments. A key message was that public authorities should move from being gatekeepers to becoming ecosystem builders, supporting dialogue, early initiatives, patient co-financing and enabling regulation.
SMART ERA presented approaches to analysing rural smartness and promoting community-led transition. The project works with digitalisation, smart innovation packages and rural smartness assessment to help rural and remote areas respond to demographic, socio-economic and environmental challenges. The example from Northern Ostrobothnia in Finland showed how tailored digital tools and innovation packages can support rural entrepreneurs, local services and community empowerment.
FUTURAL introduced innovative smart solutions for rural areas and demonstrated how technological, social and business innovation can respond to specific local challenges. The discussion also showed that many solutions can be transferred to other territories, but they need to be adapted to the local context, needs and ecosystem.
A key outcome of the Innovation Café was the recognition that clear, place-tailored structures, programmes and funding are needed to support rural innovation in diverse contexts. Rural innovation cannot rely on isolated projects alone. It needs enabling frameworks, local ownership, strong partnerships and flexible support systems that allow good practices to be replicated and adjusted to different local realities.
The event confirmed that good practices already exist across Europe. The challenge is to connect them, learn from them and create the conditions for them to grow in rural areas where innovation is often most needed.
NEXUS Hub – Innovation and Rural Impact Online Cafe_Kotavaara_20.5.2026
Online Cafe_Kotavaara_20.5.2026
FUTURAL Presentation PREPARE Webinar 20 May 2026