The 2007-13 operational programmes: a preliminary assessment: Spring – Autumn 2005

A preliminary assessment of the 2007-13 operational programmes on EU cohesion policy

Rural futures

Is our snow-man melting? Can we feed our world? Do we spoil our natural resources? Where are the safe harbours in crisis? Many global problems have essentially rural solutions. But rural regions have their own problems and challenges as well: urban sprawl, depopulation, valorisation of natural resources and loss of political power. In industrialised countries, rural people are a minority. Finland is a very specific country in some respects. Large rural areas, extremely low population density, rapid socio-economic transformation and high economic wellbeing is a rare combination. The futures of the rural areas are at stake. A dispersed bioeconomy, a colonial countryside, a museum countryside and an archipelago of business islets are all possible rural futures. This book presents snapshots of rural futures with Finnish illustrations

Hungary and the Information Society: getting a grip on territorial impacts

Since the political, social and economic transition was launched in the late eighties, regional differences, measurable on various spatial scales, have considerably increased within Hungary. Several studies carried out since the early 1990s indicate the existence of a capital-countryside dichotomy, a ?west-east slope,? as well as a more finely patterned divergence between dynamically developing, and stagnating or receding micro-regions regarding various socio-economic indicators. During especially the early transition years, foreign direct investment was a significant factor selectively revitalising certain regions, and among the ?transitional? crisis factors, the growth of unemployment had a considerable but a spatially uneven impact on Hungarian society. Meanwhile, a new group of elements has become increasingly noticeable which are assumed to influence and rearrange spatial patterns of the development of Hungarian economy and society. These are in connection with the phenomenon that is generally called ?informational development? (see e.g. Castells) or referred to as knowledge-based societies. Various international organisations have made many attempts and much effort to benchmark the development of information society on different territorial scales, and most recently on the sub-national scale (e.g. EU, UN). Also, such ventures are being currently undertaken by Hungarian regional scientists and researchers in other fields, as well as by planning institutions. The universal question is: what indicators are available and can be used to measure informational development on the sub-national level? In case of Hungary, it is important to see for example, whether the diffusion of different information and communication technologies can be regarded as a new factor in spatial divergence. There are other components of informational, knowledge-based development, which are even more difficult to track on a regional scale, such as the content and nature of Internet usage, or the openness and preparedness of the society enabling it to take full advantage of the new technologies. Learning about the spatial variation in these factors would significantly contribute to our understanding of why and to what extent regional inequalities in information society development resemble the already existing spatial patterns in economic growth. How do the new (?informational?) and old (?transitional?) factors correlate in space? From the mid-nineties, governments started drawing up a wide national strategy for Hungary aiming at its entering the information and knowledge-based society simultaneously with its EU accession. The liberalisation of the telecommunications market has taken a couple of years, and the rise in competition has just very recently had an impact on infrastructure provision and price levels. The diffusion of the relevant technologies, and especially, of Internet service provision and use through narrow- and broadband applications, is spatially uneven, more or less following existing disparities in economic growth and living standards. The paper gives empirical answers to the questions above representing regional inequalities in the emerging information society in Hungary. Keywords: information society, spatial diffusion of ICT, regional differences in Hungary

Co-constructing a new framework for evaluating social innovation in marginalized rural areas

The EU funded H2020 project \u2018Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas\u2019 (SIMRA; www.simra-h2020.eu) has the overall objective of advancing the state-of-the-art in social innovation. This paper outlines the process for co- developing an evaluation framework with stakeholders, drawn from across Europe and the Mediterranean area, in the fields of agriculture, forestry and rural development. Preliminary results show the importance of integrating process and outcome-oriented evaluations, and implementing participatory approaches in evaluation practice. They also raise critical issues related to the comparability of primary data in diverse regional contexts and highlight the need for mixed methods approaches in evaluation

Territorial cohesion and structural funds programmes: urban development and territorial cooperation

Paper focusing on territorial cohesion and the structural funds programme in Europe

Relocalising the food chain: the role of creative public procurement

The conventional food chain presents a challenge to sustainable development, containing hidden costs such as health bills, environmental damage and economic costs to the rural economy. This report argues for the development of local food chains, which would bring the 'multiple dividend' of healthier diets, local markets for local producers, lower food miles and better understanding between producers and consumers. Barriers to the growth of local food chains include EU procurement regulations and UK local government legislation that prohibit explicit 'buy local' policies, health auditing conventions which neglect the health gains of nutritious food; catering cultures that are biased to a few large firms; tendering procedures that are too complex for small suppliers; and lack of logistical and marketing capacity on the part of local producers. Schools and hospitals should be the focus for a concerted local food campaign in the UK. A local food action plan is required to reform the regulatory regime, balance demand and supply, and make it easier for consumers, especially parents and children, to buy nutritious local food, including organic food

New Forms of Employment

Societal and economic developments, such as the need for increased flexibility by both employers and workers, have resulted in the emergence of new forms of employment across Europe. These have transformed the traditional one-to-one relationship between employer and employee. They are also characterised by unconventional work patterns and places of work, or by the irregular provision of work. However, little is known about these ‘new forms of employment’, their distinctive features and the implications they have for working conditions and the labour market. To fill this knowledge gap, Eurofound conducted a Europe-wide mapping exercise to identify the emerging trends. This resulted in the categorisation of nine broad types of new employment forms. On the basis of this, the available literature and data were analysed; 66 case studies were also conducted and analysed to illustrate how these new employment forms operate in Member States and their effects on working conditions and the labour market

Is the 'Creative Class' Necessarily Urban? Putting the Creativity Thesis in the Context of Non-urbanised Regions in Industrialised Nations

In this article Cali Nuur and Staffan Laestadius raise the notion of creativity in the context of non-urbanised regions in industrialised nations. They argue that in a world where urbanization is proceeding faster than ever where traffic congestion is growing, where environmental problems like smog and water pollution are significant in many of our dynamic regions and where housing prices are rocketing, opportunities may emerge for creative combinations of talented people and non- or less- urbanized regions to develop their competitiveness. What we assert is that there is variety of lifestyle-related activities outside large urbanised centres which may attract talented people who want to combine their professional and private lifestyles – and this creates opportunities