TRANSFORMING TERRITORIES NEWSLETTER

Five African countries have completed Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) roadmaps to tackle critical local issues such as food security, climate resilience, energy transition and health, and to progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

European population is overall declining and ageing, and this affects economic growth, public services and social support systems. However, these trends do not affect all territories in the same way and remote rural regions are facing the most profound impacts.

The European Commission’s Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy wants to hear from public administrations in the EU about their experience in achieving impact through citizen engagement exercises in policymaking. We are especially interested to know what impacts were important to you and why the initiative/s had the impacts that they did. Contributions are welcome before April 30, 2025.

Join us online on 29 April at 16:00 to discover who will participate in the EU Preparatory Action 'Innovation for place-based transformation', the political support behind this initiative, and the science and data that the JRC can already bring to the table. Livestreaming available.

During this side event of this year's UN Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals, participants will learn about the collaborative effort between the European Commission and 5 African countries to design tailored STI for SDGs roadmaps.

Smart Specialisation Strategies and Mission-oriented approach: Bridging Theory and Practice. This paper explores the extent to which established policy frameworks, particularly Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3s), can incorporate a mission-oriented approach (MOA).

A new report analyses territorial patterns and trends of broadband network access and performance in the EU (2019-2024). Results show a generalised improvement across the Union, as well as promising improvements in rural areas in several European countries.

The paper highlights the importance of "intermediation" in supporting transformative research and innovation, with a focus on the sustainable food sector from a systemic perspective by presenting EIT Climate-KIC as an innovation agency that facilitates the orchestration of the innovation ecosystem across sectors and places. The research demonstrates how systemic intermediation can be operationalised in R&I policy through a strategically aligned portfolio of R&I programmes and projects.

The Rural toolkit is the comprehensive guide to EU funding and support opportunities for rural areas in the EU. A new report illustrates how using a combination of existing EU funds can address diverse rural needs and enhance rural development.

ARDECO is the leading source for demographic and socio-economic statistics at the regional and sub-regional levels. Data cover population, employment, economic growth, migration, and more, from as early as 1980. Browse the platform to discover freshly released datasets.