Co-financed by the European Union through Interreg Danube Region Programme

Period of implementation: 2025-2027

Project budget 2.022.032,00 € ; Interreg Funding 1.617.625,60 €

Project's website: https://interreg-danube.eu/projects/danube4ruralcom

Danube4Rural.com project is addressing depopulation that is one of the main challenges of rural areas in Danube region. Citizens are leaving rural areas in search for job opportunities in national urban centres or abroad. Consequently, beside losing people, predominantly rural areas struggle to maintain quality public services, economic competitiveness, and intellectual potential for future development. In addition, local/regional authorities in rural areas have limited capacities to engage into transnational cooperation and develop innovative policy solutions in the field of depopulation.

Objective:

To develop a governance model focused on creating conditions for attracting highly skilled remote workers in rural areas that are facing depopulation.

Specific objectives:

• To secure conditions for governance model solutions testing by implementing transnational research on individual (composition) factors influencing individuals to consider becoming remote workers in depopulated rural areas, preparing a transnational action plan on attracting remote workers to rural areas and establishing Remote Workers Policy Hub.
• To perform piloting activities in 10 disadvantaged rural areas and develop 12 (combined) transnational solutions in the field of quality-of-life policies, financial incentives policies and regulatory framework policies.
• To finalize a governance model on attracting highly skilled remote workers to rural areas and present how rural communities can exploit the global remote work trends to address the depopulation in Danube region.

As a knowledge partner Business Incubator – Gotse Delchev is engaged with co-leading and coordinating the establishment of the Remote Workers Policy Hub.

Expected Results: In the frame of the project, we will develop a governance model on attracting remote workers to rural areas. It will help building on existing potentials of rural areas in form of better quality of life, more space, lower living costs and preserved environment. We will develop forward-looking solutions in Quality-of-life, Financial incentives and Regulatory framework policy package, and an innovative transnational governance model in cooperation with local/regional authorities, employers organisations (private and public employers) and experts of different profiles (employment, law, finance, well-being, policy, etc.).

Project partners:

• Municipality of Moravske Toplice
• L&R Social Research
• Development agency of the City of Prijedor “PREDA”
• Regional Development Agency South
• Old Royal Capital Cetinje
• Sisak Moslavina County Development Agency SI-MO-RA Ltd
• South Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency
• North-East Regional Development Agency
• Business Incubator – Gotse Delchev, Entrepreneurship Promotion Centre
• National Rural Development and LEADER Network
• NGO Take naše
• Agriculture Cooperative 'Smart Village' Knežica

Associated partners:

• Ministrstvo za gospodarstvo, turizem in šport; Lokalna razvojna fundacija za Pomurje
• Grad Prijedor
• Opština Babušnica
• Grad Novska; Hrvatska gospodarska komora – županijska komora Sisak; Hrvatski zavod za zapošljavanje – Sisak
• Baranya Vármegyei Önkormányzat
• Asociația de Ecoturism Țara Dornelor
• Местна инициативна група – Гоце Делчев – Гърмен – Хаджидимово
• Mesto Stropkov

This publication was supported as part of Danube4Rural.com, an Interreg Danube Region Programme project co-funded by the European Union.