News

• The “Startup Villages 2025” Forum aims to rethink how innovation can take root and grow in rural areas
• According to the evidence presented at the Forum, the scalability or replication of projects is possible when local talent, governance, and institutional support are combined.

Rural innovation has been ceasing to be an exception for years, becoming a tangible reality in many European territories. However, moving from promising projects to a solid and scalable ecosystem—one that can be replicated in other locations—remains a challenge. With this in mind, Brussels hosted the European Startup Villages Forum 2025 , a space where policymakers, researchers, funding bodies, and local stakeholders shared a common question: what does rural innovation truly need to grow sustainably?

The meeting was held within the framework of the European Commission 's Joint Research Centre (JRC) "Startup Village" initiative (also known as "smart rural areas") , a platform that aims to transform rural areas into hubs of entrepreneurship and creativity. Featuring speakers from across Europe, this edition highlighted the importance of supporting local talent with coherent policies, strategic investment, and governance that originates from within the territory itself.

Project scalability

New evidence from the JRC and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) points to a paradox:

• Although rural areas invest less in R&D than urban areas, multiple centers of innovation are emerging.

• These hotspots appear especially where local creativity is combined with access to skills, spaces for experimentation, and local resources.

• Once rural businesses manage to scale up, their growth rates can be comparable to those of any urban environment .

This trend is further reinforced by the institutional impetus evident during the Forum. The event featured various conferences, debates, and roundtables with policymakers from the European Commission, economists from the JRC and the OECD, entrepreneurship specialists, and representatives from local governments. The objective: to analyze data, share experiences, and strengthen rural innovation ecosystems within the framework of the European Union's (EU) Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas , which aims for more resilient, connected, and opportunity-rich territories by 2040.

Topics that shaped the debate

1. Cohesion and competitiveness: moving forward in parallel

Participants emphasized that rural innovation must cease to be viewed as a peripheral area . Among the most prominent ideas:

• European innovation policies cannot focus solely on the most advanced territories: everyone must be able to generate wealth.

• Rural innovation encompasses sectors as diverse as energy, manufacturing, bioeconomy, and services.

• Tools such as Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3)   -which help each region invest in its areas of greatest potential-   and Interregional Innovation Investments (I3)   -focused on financing joint projects between different territories- can connect rural and urban strengths and generate strategic value chains.

2. From idea to market: initial support

For many rural projects, scalability is not a matter of a lack of creativity, but rather a lack of early support. The Forum emphasized the importance of:

• The role of the European Innovation Council   and the Regional Innovation Valleys for funding.

• The CAP 's contribution to basic services, territorial cooperation and the development of almost 3,000 Smart Village strategies in Europe.

• Participatory governance , which improves the capacity of local projects to mature and grow.

3. Governance and community

Rural innovation is not based solely on infrastructure, but on community . Therefore, the Forum emphasized:

• The importance of coordinating decisions between different institutional levels.

• The value of territory-based approaches , such as LEADER or AEI-AGRI , which strengthen local innovation.

• The need to strengthen the “human infrastructure” : local leadership, connection agents, shared spaces and collaboration networks.

• Trust as an essential element to mobilize the potential of rural areas.

Examples in operation in Europe

The Forum presented experiences from Slovenia, France, Italy, Finland, and Austria that show how territories are reinventing their public spaces to generate innovation:

• Creation of “ startup hubs ” or workspaces   in municipal buildings.

• Connection between public procurement and local innovation.

• Attracting talent through “ coworking ” and “ co-living ” spaces.   where professionals and entrepreneurs can live and work more easily in the rural environment.

• New public-private investment tools thanks to entities such as the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Italian Cassa de Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) .

These cases demonstrate that, when there is alignment between administration, community and entrepreneurs, “Startup Villages” can become key pieces of European development.

Results of the day

The 2025 European Startup Villages Forum delivered a clear message: rural innovation exists, it is robust, and it is progressing. But to advance, it needs more than just good ideas: it requires trust among stakeholders, policy coherence, coordinated investment, and governance that listens to the local communities.

In this vein, the European project Smart Rural 27 has highlighted the role of the LEADER approach as one of the most effective tools for translating innovation strategies to the local level. Its final report emphasizes that Local Action Groups, through Participatory Local Development Strategies, are key players in supporting rural communities in the design and implementation of smart villages, strengthening local capacities, fostering knowledge sharing, and connecting local initiatives with CAP policies and other European agendas.

Europe recognizes that its future also depends on rural areas capable of innovating, attracting talent, and creating opportunities. "Startup Villages" are thus becoming a strategic approach to building more resilient and competitive communities in the coming decades.