ESIRA, “Enhancing Social Innovation in Rural Areas,” is a European project coordinated by the University of Burgos (UBU) that aims to promote social innovation in rural areas as a tool for rural development. The project is funded by the European Commission through the Horizon Europe 2023 programme, runs for four years, from January 2024 to December 2027, and involves fifteen organisations from eight European countries: Spain, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Lithuania, Italy, Norway and France. A practical pilot experience will be developed in each country, with the Pinares Burgos-Soria region serving as the experimental pilot area in Spain.
The ESIRA project develops a methodology and working system that involves all rural territorial stakeholders from the very beginning. It creates “Innovation Spaces” led by the local community, enabling communities to carry out a self-assessment of their territory and identify social economy initiatives, economic entrepreneurship opportunities, cultural activities, social engagement initiatives, territorial cohesion measures, improvements in the provision of services, management of endogenous resources, digitalisation, educational initiatives, activities for young people, women’s leadership and participation, the green transition, and more.
The ESIRA project aims to contribute to the creation, identification and promotion of innovative initiatives in the fields of social economy, environmental sustainability, culture and digitalisation, as well as initiatives based on good governance, collaboration, innovation, effectiveness and inclusion. These initiatives can contribute to developing more inclusive policies and building more resilient and prosperous rural areas.
The ESIRA project aims to bring Social Innovation to rural areas through local communities themselves, which take on a leading role through a Participatory Multi-Actor Platform (MAP: Multi-Actor Platform) and become protagonists of the project. This Participatory Multi-Actor Platform should fully represent the territory, its localities and its people. It is therefore open to all individuals and organisations and enables communities to define their own innovation indicators, design specific training tailored to their needs, participate in existing practical experiences, work through networks and collaboratively, involve all territorial stakeholders, and multiply and replicate the social benefits and outcomes generated.