GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

The project is aiming at building a European network of regional and local authorities with converging priorities on social economy and creating space and opportunities at EU level for learning and collaboration. This call will support consortia developing collaboration through sharing and replicating best practices and learning with focus on boosting the resilience, the greening and the digitalisation of social economy enterprises and SMEs active in rural areas.

A proposal submitted under this call must focus on a specific theme identified by the applicant consortium, relevant for all consortium partners and with specified objectives to be achieved. The proposal must address 1 of the themes listed below or identify another theme of relevance to the consortium partners around boosting social economy businesses in rural environment:

• Building clusters of social innovation and ecological innovation in rural areas
• Boosting green, and digital transition through social economy in rural areas
• Fostering social entrepreneurship, including for sustainable agriculture and food systems
• Reinforcing education, training and skills development activities for unemployed people in rural areas, targeting in particular youth and women
• Developing the New European Bauhaus and quality of life in rural environment
• Other relevant theme.

The objectives of this call are to be achieved via 3 mandatory project activities that must at minimum consist of:

• Activity 1: Preliminary overview of existing projects
• Activity 2: Minimum of three transnational workshops and learning activities
• Activity 3: Collecting of good practices and developing recommendations for replication

The activities are described on pages 13-14 of the call document.  The project duration must be either 18 or 24 months. Estimated start date is 1st of June 2024.