InnovationGUIDE is thrilled to announce the successful conclusion of its series of four regional stakeholder events held across Türkiye, Spain, Malta, and the Netherlands. These pivotal meetings have played a crucial role in dissecting the opportunities and challenges within rural innovation and entrepreneurship, sparking a dynamic exchange of ideas and strategies among the local innovation ecosystems of the Q-Helix.
Fostering Connections and Collaborative Innovation
The events drew over 100 participants from diverse sectors including agriculture, bioeconomy, fisheries, and sustainable tourism. The array of attendees spanned public entities, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, academics, NGOs, and students, all coming together to forge pathways for sustainable and inclusive growth in rural areas.
Driving Transformation with Shared Insights
A heartfelt thanks goes out to all participants whose enthusiasm and insights are shaping the future of rural development. The discussions from these events are being meticulously analyzed, with findings set to inform comprehensive strategies and policies that will be shared with our community shortly.
Join the Innovation Movement
We invite all stakeholders to join the InnovationGUIDE network and continue to engage in our forthcoming activities. Your involvement is crucial as we endeavor to enhance the vitality of rural regions through innovative and sustainable solutions.
For more information on how to get involved and to stay updated with our initiatives, visit our website at https://bit.ly/4cNcXpC.
Together, we are paving the way toward a more innovative and sustainable future for Europe’s rural landscapes. Join us in making a lasting impact!
InnovationGUIDE is excited to announce the release of our latest deliverable, “Common Problems and Needs: A Transdisciplinary Framework”. This groundbreaking framework is designed to harness the collective insights and expertise from diverse stakeholders across the rural innovation ecosystems in Türkiye, Malta, Spain, and The Netherlands.
By fostering a participatory approach, this framework serves as a vital tool for conducting comprehensive biogeographic and land analyses. It enables an effective synthesis of stakeholder inputs, crucial for identifying the multifaceted opportunities and barriers impacting rural innovation and entrepreneurship.
The essence of this framework lies in its ability to integrate knowledge from academia, industry, government, entrepreneurs, students, and local communities. This collaborative endeavor enhances the decision-making process, ensuring that strategies are not only innovative but also inclusive and aligned with the real needs of rural areas.
Through regional workshops that involved over 100 stakeholders from sectors as diverse as agriculture, bioeconomy, fisheries, and sustainable tourism, the framework has captured essential insights into the dynamics of rural development. These interactions have highlighted the importance of understanding local contexts to tailor strategies that effectively address regional challenges and leverage potential opportunities for innovation.
As we prepare for further discussions and the development of bi-annual programming, InnovationGUIDE remains committed to advancing sustainable and inclusive growth. This framework is just the beginning—stay tuned for more updates and insights as we continue to explore and expand the horizons of rural innovation and development.
For more detailed analysis and to be part of this transformative journey, join the InnovationGUIDE network. Together, we are shaping the future of rural entrepreneurship!
Paola, Malta– InnovationGUIDE, a collaborative project aimed at fostering rural development and innovation, recently organized a highly successful event titled “Thriving Entrepreneurship: Agriculture, Fisheries, Tourism, and Bioeconomy.” The event, held in Paola, Malta, was led by project partners The Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology (MCAST) and Social Entrepreneurs Association Malta (SEAM).
The event brought together stakeholders from various sectors such as MALTAccelerate, Blue EcoTech LTD, Natura Snacks, Malta Food Agency, and more. The attendees engaged in insightful discussions and contributed to making the event a resounding success.
The event kicked off with an introduction to InnovationGUIDE and its objectives, followed by engaging presentations by project partners. Adriana Frank, from SEAM, shared inspiring case studies, highlighting successful rural innovation initiatives and their potential impact.
A key highlight of the event was an interactive session on opportunities and barriers in promoting rural entrepreneurship. Attendees were guided through practical exercises, including an introduction to the World Bank Ecosystem Model and the use of Mentimeter to identify initiatives and challenges in agriculture, tourism, and bioeconomy.
Representatives from the agriculture, tourism, and bioeconomy sectors shared their insights, needs, and priorities, leading to vibrant discussions and valuable outcomes. The event concluded with a networking lunch, providing attendees with further opportunities to connect and collaborate.
For those who missed the event, InnovationGUIDE encourages them to stay tuned for future opportunities and updates. Interested parties can follow their social media channels for the latest news and developments.
Funded by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), InnovationGUIDE will power rural areas by enabling innovators including deep tech and social innovation startups to take better advantage of the single market and attract new institutional investors to strengthen financial and capital markets to commercialise and scale companies in their countries.
The project is integrated by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Universiteit Maastricht, Fundacion Empresa-Universidad Gallega (FEUGA), Malta College of Arts Science and Technology (MCAST) and StartupCentrum.
InnovationGUIDE is pleased to announce the launch of its first outcome for the Stakeholders community: a report focused on the identification of Gender-Responsive Policies. This document addresses the needs, challenges, and priorities related to gender-sensitive actions in the context of rural innovation.
The report provides guidance on how to execute this in practice, as well as tools designed to ensure that gender considerations are systematically integrated into rural innovation processes. This allows organization and networks s to measure the effectiveness of their interventions in addressing gender disparities.
Additionally, the report includes approaches to language use that avoids biases, exclusions, or stereotypes related to gender, along with best practices for sharing.
Join us in our commitment to building a more equitable and inclusive future.
Málaga, Spain – March 25, 2024 – InnovationGUIDE, a leading project for rural innovation ecosystems, proudly announces its successful participation in Transfiere, Spain’s largest innovation forum, through our partner Fundación Empresa Universidad Gallega (FEUGA).
The event, which gathered professionals from over 30 countries and more than 500 companies, entities, and public administrations, served as a dynamic platform for fostering knowledge exchange and advancing rural innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives.
At Transfiere, held in the vibrant city of Málaga, InnovationGUIDE showcased its commitment to nurturing innovation in rural areas. Through engaging discussions, networking sessions, and collaborative opportunities, we have reinforced our dedication to fostering #ruralinnovation and #entrepreneurship.
At the heart of InnovationGUIDE’s mission is the bridging of rural innovation ecosystems across Türkiye, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malta. Transfiere served as a pivotal meeting point, enabling the organization to strengthen connections within the #national innovation ecosystem and forge partnerships with innovative talents and entrepreneurs.
Istambul – The InnovationGUIDE project has officially kicked off with a successful launch meeting at the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) headquarters in Istanbul. This ambitious project, comprising six entities from Turkey, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malta focuses on identifying regional needs and connecting rural innovation ecosystems to foster entrepreneurship and economic development in the regions.
With a total budget of 496,862.50 euros and a duration of 12 months from January 2024, InnovationGUIDE will have a focus for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners interested in promoting sustainable, inclusive economic growth in rural areas.
Funded by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), InnovationGUIDE will power the Pan European Countries’ rural areas by enabling innovators including deep tech and social innovation startups to take better advantage of the single market and attract new institutional investors to strengthen financial and capital markets to commercialise and scale companies in their countries.
The project is integrated by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Universiteit Maastricht, Fundacion Empresa-Universidad Gallega (FEUGA), Malta College of Arts Science and Technology (MCAST) and StartupCentrum.
ABOUT INNOVATIONGUIDE
The project aims to integrate networks of individuals, organizations, and institutions in rural areas collaborating to drive innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development.
In this sense, InnovationGUIDE’s motivation originates from recent situations and developments in the agriculture, fisheries, sustainable tourism, and bioeconomy sectors in the consortium’s member countries. Addressing the barriers that important actors in related sectors experience in accessing innovation and contribute to rural development.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
InnovationGUIDE will undertake a variety of activities, including stakeholder, common problems and needs mapping for regions and sectors, reporting on Governance Analysis focusing on innovation, development of financial sustainability plans, replication and sustainability guidelines and action plan to accelerate innovation implementation on the regional rural ecosystems. The project also plans to organize more than 8 regional events, one interregional event, and establish an Inter Regional Innovation Assembly.
These collaborative efforts will allow the identification and development of new ideas, products, and services that address local challenges and opportunities. Recognizing the pivotal role of innovation in rural development, InnovationGUIDE is embarking on a groundbreaking journey to unravel the intricate tapestry of rural innovation dynamics.
For further technical information please contact Onurcan Misir (onurcanmisir@tim.org.tr) and for media communications Agustín Quesada (aquesada@feuga.es).
