The Smart community-led transition for Europe’s Rural Areas (SMART ERA) project, coordinated by Fondazione Bruno Kessler and funded under Horizon Europe, addresses rural depopulation and aging by empowering communities to co-design digital innovation packages. It operates across multiple EU regions (including pilot areas in Italy, Slovenia, Finland, Austria, Bulgaria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Spain), aiming to enhance rural resilience through smart, sustainable development.

The Challenge

Rural Europe is facing long-term depopulation: young people are migrating out, leading to aging populations, declining services, weak infrastructure, and limited jobs. However, advances in digitalisation and remote working offer opportunities for revitalisation provided communities can access and adapt to these digital shifts.

The Solution

To empower rural communities, SMART ERA implemented a collaborative and data‑driven ‘Smart Innovation Package’ approach:
•    Pilots an EU wide digital maturity assessment method to benchmark and monitor smart readiness.
•    Co-designs Smart Innovation Packages (SIPs) with local stakeholders, including residents and public/private partners, to address specific socio-economic and environmental challenges.
•    Develops a unified Smartness/Digital Maturity assessment toolkit to guide rural development.
•    Offers evidence-based recommendations to policymakers at local, national, and EU levels, making rural policies smarter and more effective.
•    Fosters cross-region collaboration via EU macro-regional strategies to boost knowledge-sharing and community resilience.

Impact and Success

SMART ERA is driving systemic change in rural digital transformation and inclusive growth:
•    Enables a scalable model for assessing and enhancing rural digital capacities across Europe.
•    Ensures active community participation by involving citizens and stakeholders in co-designing local solutions.
•    Provides a holistic toolset (assessment + Smart Innovation Packages (SIPs) + policy guidance) for comprehensive rural smartening.
•    Promotes inter-regional exchange, strengthening networks and transfers of proven innovation practices.

SMART ERA stands as a valuable best practice for rural smart development. By combining community driven co-creation, digital maturity analysis, and policy-informed innovation, it offers a resilient, sustainable pathway for reversing rural decline. As a cross-border, evidence-based framework, it represents a replicable strategy for EU policymakers and communities seeking to build vibrant, future ready rural areas.