• Innovation projects help create networks, involving different actors through participatory processes, commitment, and motivation .
• Designing strategies, assessing stakeholders based on their competencies, and combining different skills are key elements for an innovation network to achieve the desired results.

Innovation is one of the priorities of the European Union's rural development policy. The LEADER approach and participatory local development play a fundamental role in creating processes that foster practical and effective ideas for rural development and that harmoniously combine business, social expectations, and natural resources in all three dimensions: technical, social, and economic.

The event held on September 9, 2021, featured the participation of María Rivera, researcher at the University of Évora (Portugal) and José María Díaz Puente, professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, who were in charge of presenting the LIAISON2020 project, an H2020 project in which 15 countries of the European Union participate and which aims to significantly contribute to the optimization of innovative projects, networks and initiatives, as well as the creation of policies that accelerate innovation in the areas of agriculture, forestry and rural development .

The lessons learned from this project highlight how innovation begins through a core group, made up of one or more partners who have come together around a shared opportunity or idea and decided to initiate the innovation activity . To achieve this, networking , leadership , and a balanced set of skills among the various stakeholders involved are key elements for driving co-innovation in rural areas.

LEADER and GAL Innovation

Local Action Groups are public-private associations operating through assemblies whose primary function is the design, implementation, and management of Local Development Strategies , engaging their communities to drive innovative projects in the region. Therefore, the exchanges of experiences promoted by the National Rural Network allow for shared opportunities among different stakeholders, serving as inspiration and learning opportunities. They are an opportunity to explore, debate, and reflect on the barriers and obstacles encountered in project implementation and lessons learned along the way.

This exchange was attended by:

1. MENDINET (Basque Country) with Jon Vitorica and his SMARTRURAL project, which helps municipalities design Smart strategies with cooperation, training, and advisory sessions.
2. Cristina Merino, manager of ADECOAR (Burgos), and her participation in the Reina initiative , as well as in other cooperation projects with a more digital component, such as Museos Vivos or the Red Capacita .
3. Sonia Velázquez, manager of the Don Quijote Regional Association (Toledo), presenting the emotional well-being workshop promoted in its training plan due to its innovative nature.
4. Juanjo Alonso as promoter of the BHD Consulting project, within the framework of submeasure 19.2 of ADRI Comarca de la Sidra (Asturias), where he presented his experience and how innovative initiatives such as telemedicine can be promoted in rural areas.

Through the presentations and the participation of those attending the meeting, it was emphasized that innovation is not only technological , but also social , and that it must be adapted to the territory in which it is applied.

All information about this meeting can be found at the following link , as well as on the RRN social networks: Twitter , Facebook and YouTube .