D6.3. RURALITIES Network of facilitators on innovation action

The current document, titled D6.3 -Network of facilitators on innovation action has been elaborated within the framework of the RURALITIES project which is co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101060876. UK participants in Horizon Europe Project RURALITIES are supported by UKRI grant numbers: 10051963 The Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership and 10050988 Earthwatch Europe. Work package (WP) 6 generates instruments and mechanisms to assist shortening the innovation cycle of identified projects tackling the environmental, economic, social and societal nexus (RURNex) made available via the RURALITIES resources platform. Creates a system thinking approach to be practiced defining rural challenges in a structured manner. Establishes a ‘RURALITIES Co-Lab’ in each of the project’s participating countries, which are events in space and time to host a vast panoply of activities from awareness-raising events to capacity building workshops. WP6 generates the project’s citizen science monitoring framework ‘RURALITIES Citizen Sensing’ which is a citizen-driven Mobile App allowing rural people to interact comprehensively with their peers and with all actors of their simplified rural socio-ecological systems (SIMSES). Also generates a comprehensive innovation ecosystem encompassing systemic mechanisms supported by an actionable knowledge basis, a fund-raising mechanism, a team of 100+ facilitators, and practical instruments, spanning the full innovation spectrum of the RURNex from land use to public services. WP6 aims at generating mechanisms to raise funds up to 5 million euros via private channels and donors to finance as many AU based projects identified via WP5. Within the strategic framework of WP6, D6.3 is linked to Task 6.4 – FAST-TRACK Innovation Management Programme. This task aims at generating a comprehensive innovation ecosystem encompassing systemic mechanisms supported by an actionable knowledge basis, a fund-raising mechanism, a team of 100+ facilitators, and practical instruments, spanning the full innovation spectrum of the RURNex from land use to public services. FAST-TRACK generates a gap analysis, identifies and builds accurate services packages to answer identified and assessed needs. Ensure effective co-creative and co-production processes with all actors of the SIMSES and contributing partners as well. Generate ‘RURALITIES Incubator and Innovation Services’ (RURIIS) encompassing an actionable guidebook, a team of facilitators, an OER-driven Capacity Building programme, a vast panoply of events (focus on webinars), learning material, audio-video capsules (witnesses, good practices, etc.), all coordinated by the RURALITIES hubs. FINRUR is demonstrated in each SIMSES (to be selected). Establish the ‘RURALITIES First Seed’ funding scheme, a private capital funding scheme, a pre-seed stage funding instruments to support the financial dimension of the innovation.