The 2023 edition of the Forum will discuss the main elements and enabling conditions of the Startup Village concept through a genuine science-for-policy interaction, supporting the identification and analysis of triggering factors for innovation and startup creation in rural areas.

Participants are also expected to debate and propose concrete actions on how the Forum can develop as a linking device to work together with existing initiatives and connect actors around the challenge of startup creation in rural areas and the importance of developing performing place-based innovation ecosystems.

The Forum will also offer the opportunity to discuss a number of ongoing experiences related to Startup Villages as well as supporting tools, both established by the European Commission and developed by different stakeholders. For example, some support measures for the promotion of innovation and startup creation in rural areas and the improvement of framework conditions included in different EU policies and programmes, will be presented.

The political impulse of the initiative will pave the way for further evolution of both the concept and methodological considerations around startup villages, the fine-tuning of their role within the rich and articulated EU support to rural actors and communities, and the actual development of concrete projects supporting innovative entrepreneurship and innovation in villages.

Finally, the Forum is expected to contribute to the identification of a few themes for a research and knowledge exchange agenda on rural entrepreneurship and innovation, whose results will inform and frame the following edition of the Forum. 

Read out more: information and registration.