Assessing the Maturity Level of Socio-Technical Contexts Towards Green and Digital Transitions: The Adaptation of the SCIROCCO Tool Applied to Rural Areas

The NewEcoSmart project addresses the need to foster inclusive green and digital transitions in rural habitat sectors by systematically assessing local socio-technical readiness and tailoring capacity-building interventions. We adapted the validated SCIROCCO Exchange Maturity Self-Assessment Tool—selecting eight dimensions relevant to environmental, technological and social innovation—and conducted a two-phase evaluation across three pilot sites in Italy, Portugal and Spain. Phase 1 mapped stakeholder evidence against predefined criteria; Phase 2 engaged local actors (45+ adults, SMEs and micro-firms) in a self-assessment to determine digital, green and entrepreneurial skill gaps. For each domain of the SCIROCCO Tool, local actors can assign a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 5. The final score of the SCIROCCO tool can be a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 40. Quantitative maturity scores revealed heterogeneous profiles (Pacentro and Majella Madre = 5; Yecla = 10; Adelo Area = 23), underscoring diverse ecosystem strengths and limitations. A qualitative analysis, framed by Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments (SHAFE) domains, identified emergent training needs that are clustered at three levels: MACRO (community-wide awareness and engagement), MESO (decision-maker capacity for strategic planning and governance) and MICRO (industry-specific practical skills). The adapted SCIROCCO tool effectively proposes the assessment of socio-technical maturity in rural contexts and guides the design of a modular, multi-layered training framework. These findings support the need for scalable deployment of interventions that are targeted to the maturity of the local ecosystems to accelerate innovations through equitable green and digital transformations in complex socio-cultural settings.