SMARTVillages

Alpine space rural communities are often deprived of highly needed jobs, good provision of services as well as a favorable climate for enterprenuership and social innovation, which result in a brain drain. Digitalization is a promising approach to counter the situation. The Smart Village (SV) approach for mountain areas could unlock the potential of local actors to make their region a more attractive place to live and work. The project aims to apply a SV approach and bring together policy makers, business, academia and civil society to improve the framework for innovation through new forms of stakeholder involvement facilitated by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

Smart villages are communities in rural areas that develop smart solutions to address challenges in their local context. They build on existing local strengths and opportunities to engage in a process of sustainable development of their territories. They rely on a participatory approach to develop and implement their strategies to improve their economic, social and environmental conditions, in particular by promoting innovation and mobilising the solutions offered by digital technologies. Smart villages benefit from cooperation and partnerships with other communities and actors in rural and urban areas. The initiation and implementation of smart village strategies can build on existing initiatives and can be funded by a variety of public and private sources.