RURACTIVE Welcomes Nine Additional Dynamos to Further Replicate Its Community-led Innovation Process

Alongside the already established twelve RURACTIVE case study areas (known as Dynamos), RURACTIVE has officially selected nine Additional Dynamos to join its core network. They will gain the knowledge, skills and development practices needed to establish local multi-actor Rural Innovation Ecosystems.

The selection follows a call to express interest that attracted 62 applicants from around the world, highlighting the strong enthusiasm for advancing rural innovation through the project’s collaborative model in a vast range of rural topics.

With the support of the RURACTIVE consortium, each community of the Additional Dynamos will be guided through the RURACTIVE methodology, putting into place the practices and processes necessary to begin implementing their own sustainable, co-created, rural development solutions across their diverse European local contexts.

Newly Selected Additional Dynamos

1. RU.RA.LE. Aps, Sardinia, Italy
   Works to counter rural depopulation and socio‐economic decline through cultural innovation, mutual support networks and digital literacy.
2. Community Cooperation Network “Selonian islands", Selonia region, Latvia
   Combats negative rural imagery and insufficient local data using citizen science and digital outreach to reshape community perception.
3. Associação dos Amigos da Pontemieiro, Vale de Cambra, Portugal
   Launches an intergenerational therapeutic horticulture hub to support mental health and social inclusion in ageing rural populations.
4. Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece
   Focuses on enhancing digital connectivity, flood and fire resilience, and cross-border livestock disease control in agricultural areas.
5. Absentia APS, Stintino, Sardinia, Italy
   Revives community life in a seasonal tourism town through winter co-working and cultural activation, addressing social isolation and revitalising public spaces.
6. NANOMA Coop Astur, Candamo, Asturias, Spain
   Promotes sustainable tourism, cultural innovation, renewable energy communities and youth inclusion while leveraging local heritage and events.
7. Sykkylven municipality, Sykkylven, Norway
   Reinvents public service delivery through digital transformation, transport innovation and community-centred wellbeing strategies amid demographic shifts.
8. Spraoi agus Spórt, Carndonagh, Inishowen, Donegal, Ireland
   Engages in food security, biodiversity, and inclusion via waste reduction, renewable energy pilots, accessible café hubs and youth-led creative enterprises.
9. CORANE – Associação de Desenvolvimento dos Concelhos da Raia Nordestina, Bragança region, Portugal
   Drives inclusive, community-led tourism innovation, inter-municipal cooperation, and heritage valorisation in a biodiverse border area.

Why This Matters

These Additional Dynamos will:

• Access the RURACTIVE e-learning platform and the “Activating Rural Innovation Ecosystems” methodology.
• Participate in funded in-person workshops, including a methodology workshop led by the University of Bologna and the final RURACTIVE conference in Brussels in August 2027.
• Enter a vibrant network of rural innovators, exchanging knowledge with the original 12 Dynamos and leveraging project communication channels for visibility.

What’s Next

With 62 applicants and nine selected Additional Dynamos, the call demonstrated both the demand and the potential for new, more inclusive models of rural development. The chosen projects represent a rich geographic and thematic diversity, from coastal Sardinia to mountainous Asturias, from rural Norway to Portugal’s borderlands, spanning domains such as culture, health, tourism, digital inclusion, and ecosystem resilience.

As part of the RURACTIVE network, these Additional Dynamos will co-develop tailored, locally rooted solutions with European peers, ensuring broader project impact and knowledge sharing.

For more information on the different Dynamos who have newly joined please visit the dedicated webpage.