LIVERUR aims to support businesses, projects and initiatives in designing innovative business models in rural areas, moving towards a Circular Economy and including all important stakeholders by following the Living Lab approach.
Living Laboratories are ecosystems of open innovation, centred on the user, which often operate in a territorial context, integrating concurrent research and innovation processes within a public-private partnership.
The basis for the strategic development of a Rural Living Lab is to establish an association of sustainable stakeholders; users, policymakers, businesses and researchers enter into agreements on the basis of which they can participate in a longer-term collaboration.
However, it can be expected that a successful Living Lab design will be highly affected by the specific context of Living Lab’s rural environment and by its specific objectives and ambitions.
“The LIVERUR project identifies innovative business models within the newly developed Circular Rural Living Labs, and conducts socio-economic-technology analyzes to identify, describe and compare the differences between the new approach of Living Lab and more entrepreneurial traditional approaches (mass production, development of prices, optimizing cost structures with companies, rationalization). The transition from linear to Circular Economy in rural context is demonstrated by life cycle sustainable assessment (LCSA) of products & services being in line with the relevant Sustainable Development Goals and the European Green Deal initiatives. “
The LIVERUR project pays special attention to Living Labs, as they encourage a more sustainable mobilization of resources, better cooperation between operators along the value chain and lead to new services. Living Lab uses the concept of open innovation in a broader sense, with a success/failure rate determined by empirically based key research factors.
Given that empirically substantiated studies are still lacking, LIVERUR‘s short-term objective is to improve knowledge of business models that grow in rural areas, including the understanding of their potential. In the long term, the project will increase the potential for rural economic diversification.
Work in progress
Analysis of the Rural Living Lab concept and conceptualization of existing rural business models in EU and regional areas, with specific attention to the following sectors: fruits and vegetal products, dairy products, cultivation from arid territories, agritourism, organic farming, hadcraft, social inclusion, smart rural sector and livestock.
Development of a benchmark classification to list existing business concepts and models in terms of starting conditions, obstacles faced, enabling factors, financial mechanism, generation of added value, jobs and other environmental and social benefits in order to leverage already existing procedures (such as low carbon value chains and short supply food chains).
Creation and conceptualization of a totally new business model concept – the Regional Circular Living Lab business model concept (RAIN).
Promotion of the integration among the stakeholders of the rural sectors among the Pilot Regions through the creation of an ICT enabled service ecosystem (RAIN Platform).
Testing and validation the operability of the Living Lab approach in rural areas by Academia and open innovation centres through 13 Pilot Regions.
Blog
The LIVERUR project identifies innovative business models within the newly developed Circular Rural Living Labs, and will conduct socio-economic-technology analyzes to identify, describe and compare the differences between the new approach of Living Lab and more entrepreneurial traditional approaches (mass production, development of prices, optimizing cost structures with companies, rationalization).
Partners
The LIVERUR project involves more than 20 European partners from peripheral areas in which the development of the rural economy is vital for their survival. Although LIVERUR is focused on Europe, one of the partners is located in Tunisia, which provides a greater internationalization to the project.
Further Links
To learn more about rural economies:
- Ceja – the European Council of Young Farmers
- EIP AGRI
- Funding opportunities under the Common Agricultural Policy
- Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking
- Euraknos
- Regione Emilia-Romagna
- CRPA-Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali
- CLIMATE KIC – Climate-smart agriculture booster
- PDR – Programa de Desarrollo Rural 2014-2020