landscape with fields and hills
Empowering rural communities to act for change

Publications

2026

  • A mixed methods approach to better understand and steer multifunctional forestry in mountain regions of Europe
    Maria Nijnik, Mariana Melnykovych, Simone Martino, et al.
    Forest Policy and Economics
    doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2026.103859

    Despite decades of debates around multifunctional forestry (MFF), the definition of MFF is not agreed upon and the basic contention remains between those who support forests for timber, and those who give precedence to biodiversity and socio-cultural benefits of woodlands. These perspectives are deeply polarised. The contradictions between them are difficult to resolve, while many thought-provoking nuances in human values and attitudes towards forests remain hidden behind these basic polarizations. To advance knowledge of stakeholder values, attitudes, perceptions and preferences, important for informing the planning and implementation of MFF in mountain regions of Europe, we develop and apply an innovative combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including literature surveys, interviews, workshops and Q-methodology. We use this approach in the Ukraine's Carpathians, the Scottish Highlands and Swiss Alps. It has enabled us to reveal both diversity and overlaps in-between and to develop a more nuanced understanding of MFF than is the general perception of basic polarised positions of Productivists vs Nature Protectionists. The achievement of this goal, with five groups of subjective perceptions identified and explained in this paper, is important for advancing the state-of-the-art in forest social science, as well as for bridging a knowledge gap between the multifunctional forestry concept and its operationalisation.

  • Access to Essential Services in Rural Europe: A Systematic Review for Fostering Sustainable Rural Development
    Benedetta Cavalieri, Angela Santangelo
    Sustainability
    doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su18157714

    Access to essential services is a key determinant of quality of life, social inclusion, and territorial cohesion in rural areas, where low population density and spatial dispersion often limit service provision. Ensuring equitable service accessibility represents an important component of sustainable rural development, as it contributes to the resilience and long-term viability of rural communities. Although access to services has gained increasing attention over recent decades, the conceptualization, measurement, and operationalization of accessibility in rural contexts remain fragmented across regions and disciplines. This paper presents a systematic review of the scientific literature on access to services in rural areas of Europe, aiming to synthesize existing knowledge, identify dominant methodological approaches, and highlight key research gaps. The review examines the types of services and transport modes considered to reach them, the indicators and metrics used to assess accessibility, and the spatial scales of analysis. The results reveal a strong focus on a limited range of services, a predominant reliance on car-based travel time measures, and substantial heterogeneity in data sources and analytical methods. The paper concludes by outlining a hierarchical framework for service accessibility to support future analysis and evidence-based policymaking aimed at promoting sustainable and inclusive development in rural Europe.

2024

  • Multi-actor rural innovation ecosystems: Definition, dynamics, and spatial relations
    Simona Bravaglieri, Hanna Elisabet Åberg, Alessia Bertuca, Claudia de Luca
    Journal of Rural Studies
    doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103492

    Innovation Ecosystems (IE) is an emerging concept that highlights the evolution of a group of actors working around common practices, products, processes, actions, and initiatives. While we can find various definitions of urban innovation districts/ecosystems and common traits that coherently define them at the urban level, only a few scholars have focused on understanding and further defining Innovation Ecosystems in the rural context. While rural communities and territories can be a generative ground for Innovation Ecosystems, housing resources and capacities to become vibrant centres of innovation based on local heritage and resources, the activation of multi-actor Rural Innovation Ecosystems in these areas still remains a challenge. This article presents a proposal for defining Rural Innovation Ecosystem, departing from the main differences with the urban IE highlighting common traits and main differences in order to accelerate and better disseminate their establishment. The rural contexts present relevant characteristics in which innovation can thrive, such as dependencies and relationships represented by geographies, area of interested corresponding to sectors, and social, human and cultural capitals which harness the potential of all community members.

2023

  • Social innovation to address sustainability challenges and enlarge the opportunities provided by forests for a green and just transition of marginalised mountain areas
    Maria Nijnik, Simo Sarkki, Mariana Melnykovych, David Miller
    doi: 10.5281/zenodo.8397298

    In this paper, we provide conceptual and practical insights into social innovation, highlighting its role in achieving a more sustainable provision of ecosystem services from forests, as well as its role in tackling societal challenges and utilising the opportunities available in marginalised mountain areas across Europe. The findings indicate that social innovation and innovative governance mechanisms are crucial for the promotion of sustainability and multi-functionality in mountain forestry, as well as for the enhancement of a smart, green, and just transition of marginalised rural areas, so that forest-dependent communities, living and working in the vicinity of woodlands, can become healthier, happier, and more prosperous. The results show that social innovation has a power of enabling forest-dependent communities and woodland-based social enterprises to build and realise their capacities, while reducing existing inequalities, and promoting social justice and inclusion. There is also empirical evidence to suggest that by adding to improving human wellbeing, social innovation can create new responses to pressing social demands (e.g., for climate neutrality) that are not adequately addressed by markets or existing (e.g., public) institutions. We believe that the conceptualization and operationalisation of social innovation in the context of multi-functional forestry, offered by this research and its findings, can help informing forest policy and management decisions and the design of practice measures for Green Recovery and a long-term sustainability of socio-ecological systems in marginalised mountain areas.

  • RURACTIVE Insights on Women-Led Innovation in Rural Areas
    Hannah Budge, Sophie Miller, Diana Valero (James Hutton Institute) & RURACTIVE Partners

    This booklet showcases different women-led innovations from the RURACTIVE Dynamos and the personal stories behind them. This is to provide inspiration for new women innovators in rural areas.

  • RURACTIVE Handbook - Activating Rural Innovation Ecosystems for community-led development and empowerment

    This practical handbook aims to guide through the step-by-step process of activating Multi-Actor Rural Innovation Ecosystems (RIEs) for community-led development and empowerment. It sets key principles, methods, and good practices to support in undertaking a participatory and inclusive community-led co-development process. Implementing these steps will support the development of a Local Action Plan (LAP) that focuses on a selection of the six Rural Development Drivers (RDDs), integrates Cross-Cutting Priorities(CCPs), and supports a just, sustainable and smart transition of any rural territory.