Work packages

The project activities are structured across seven Work Packages.

The first stage of the project will be used to develop a framework for research and innovation. WP3 will formulate conceptual guidelines, an assessment framework and detailed research and innovation guidelines to set the methodological basis of other work packages. This framework, for which a literature review will be done, will be developed to ascertain that development of different parts of approaches, including case study selection, is done jointly.

WP4 will develop foresights studies, which is done (1) by presenting megatrends, trends and weak signals of relevance for generational renewal, (2) by an inventory of rural dream futures of the youth and (3) by confronting these trends and dreams with actors in regional rural contexts to discuss how rural dreams of new generations can be facilitated. In this way we discuss probability, desirability and possibility in the context of new rural generations.

WP5 is about rural newcomers and new entrants into farming. Next to an overview of current studies and quantitative data on these matters, this WP will investigate case in which promising examples can be found of renewing rural generations by rural newcomers, new entrants into farming and farm succession. Results will be discussed with actors in regions in which the situation is less promising to search for ways to upscale positive experiences to other regions.

WP6 is about access to land. The WP (1) studies tools of governance in all EU member states and makes a deeper analysis on several promising tools, it (2) looks at land markets and the way they operate in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy, it (3) looks at examples of promising bottom-up and local-embedded instruments to allow access to land and finally discusses the results in other regional contexts to search for ways to upscale positive experiences to other regions.

WP7 is about policy design and assessment. Here a variety of actions will be employed, including material addressed to the issues of local communities, policy assessment, the development of new policies and specific actions to policy makers at various levels and scales.

Project Management (WP1) and Dissemination and Exploitation activities (WP2) are transversal Work Packages. WP1 will aim at ensuring the coordination of technical activities, compliance of the deliverables and expected results as well as high quality work. WP2 will ensure that results of the project will be made useful in the real-world of generational renewal in rural areas and that the project results in impact.