Smart Villages support in Greece

How is Smart Villages defined?

How is the CAP supporting Smart Villages?

How are other policies supporting Smart Villages?

Smart Rural 27 Taskforce in Greece

Smart Villages in Greece

Download Greece Smart
Villages Info In PDF

The SR21 Country Page contains more
information on Smart Villages in Greece

How is the concept of Smart Villages defined?

No formal definition of ‘Smart Villages’ in Greece.

The description in the LEADER intervention is commonly accepted:

Smart Villages are “communities in rural areas that have innovative solutions to improve their resilience, based on the local advantages of the place”. This also means that there is no ‘absolute’ definition or a model that covers every case for Smart Villages.

The innovative solutions in Smart Villages often focus on supporting local actions that lead to a digital, green or social ‘transition’. This transition often includes measures related to essential services such as care, education, mobility or energy.

There is a specification for Smart Villages: they must contain a technological or social innovation.

Source: Draft Greek CAP Strategic Plan

Is digital a key feature of Smart Villages?

Digital innovation is a key feature. It is acknowledged that digital technology can help improving services (e.g. energy and basic services).

Is social innovation a key feature of Smart Villages?

Social innovation is considered an essential feature of Smart Villages. The concept aims to improve the delivery of key rural services such as health, education, energy, mobility and other social services of key importance in rural, mountainous and remote areas where these services are of poor quality and often declining.

How is the CAP supporting Smart Villages?

Ministry of Rural Development and Food, General Secretariat for Agricultural Policy & European Funds Management

W: https://ead.gr/item/agridev-programunit/

Ministry of Rural Development and Food Website

W. http://www.minagric.gr/index.php/en/component/content/

CAP SP 2023-2027 Factsheet
CAP Factsheet in English
CAP Factsheet in Greek

CAP 2014-2022

Only indirectly, no dedicated Smart Villages interventions identified.

  • LEADER/ CLLD

CAP 2023-2027

Indirectly, no specific Smart Villages intervention.

  • LEADER/CLLD

LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs) will implement the Smart Village approach in Greece: for Smart Villages to succeed, LAGs need to be able to support social innovation processes that often require increased and broader partnership and collaboration. The partnerships and collaborations in which LAGs are involved and active in their own area of intervention need to be strengthened in order to ensure the participation of relevant know-how providers (universities, training centres, research institutes, etc.) to facilitate the processes of social and technological innovation necessary for the transition to Smart Villages.

LAGs working on Smart Villages can focus on important elements such as animation strategy, social innovation and community participation that are central to the approach.

National Rural Network Greece 

W: https://ead.gr/home-en/gnrn-en/

Gabriela Michail, Head of Networking and Publicity Unit

E: gmichail@mou.gr

CAP Network support

Some network activity on Smart Villages:

Its core tasks are the transfer of know-how to the LAGs and the exchange of experiences at national and European levels.

How are other policies supporting Smart Villages?

No other policies supporting Smart Villages have been identified at this stage.

Please find further information about Smart Villages support in Greece on the Smart Rural 21 project’s Greece country page.

Smart Rural 27 – Smart Villages Taskforce

Information will follow soon.

Smart Villages in Greece

Want to get involved or know more on what Smart Rural 27 is doing in Greece? Contact us!

Last update: September 20, 2022