Greek National Rural Network

National Rural Network

of the Greek Rural Development Programme 2014-2020

NETWORKING AND COOPERATION OF ACTORS INVOLVING IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT

NETWORKING

Networking is widely recognized and adopted as a key tool for supporting and promoting sustainable rural development. Τhe main added value of networking is to provide solutions to the problems faced by rural areas through sharing knowledge and information and encouraging the dialogue between the stakeholders.

Within the framework of the European Rural Development Policy, National Rural Networks have been established in the Member States, in order to pursue the best possible results for Rural Development Programmes, financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

At European level, the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) supports the effective implementation of EU Member States’ Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) by generating and sharing knowledge, as well as through facilitating information exchange and cooperation across rural Europe. The ENRD works alongside a second European rural network: the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI), whose aim is to foster innovation and bring together all relevant stakeholders including the research and innovation community, farmers, advisors and agri-businesses.

At national level, the Greek National Rural Network, already established from the previous programming period, continues to support the effective implementation of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020.

The Network Support Unit (Unit of Networking and Publicity), within the Managing Authority of RDP 2014-2020, is responsible for the networking and the operation of the NRN, acting as the coordinating link for both rural networking issues and innovation promotion in rural development.

NETWORKING OBJECTIVES

Networking through the National Rural Network aims to:

improve the quality of RDP implementation;
increase the involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of rural development;
inform the broader public and potential beneficiaries on rural development policy and funding opportunities;
foster innovation in agriculture, food production, forestry and rural areas;
facilitate the exchange of knowledge and relevant practices on rural development issues.

NRN MEMBERSHIPS

The NRN members are organizations and administrations involved in rural development: members of the RDP Partnership, regional, local and other public authorities, economic and social partners, bodies representing the civil society, including environmental partners, non-governmental organisations, and bodies responsible for promoting equality and non-discrimination, educational and research institutions, and RDP Monitoring Committee members. Up to now, 186 members have been appointed.

The NRN structure includes:
The Assembly
The Coordination Committee
The Innovation Subnetwork
The Local Action Group Subnetwork
The Thematic Working Groups (TWG)

The Coordination Committee supports the NRN structure and has a leading and advisory role in the implementation of the Action Plan and the Annual Plan of the NRN activities. It may propose topics for Thematic Working Groups, as well as the gathering of the Assembly and the Subnetworks.

NRN PRIORITIES

The Action Plan has the following priorities, which are broken down into detailed activities:

Highlighting and disseminating relevant projects and practices covering all priorities of the RDP
Facilitating thematic exchanges between rural development stakeholders, sharing and disseminating the findings
Networking of Local Action Groups (training, support for inter-territorial and transnational co-operation, simplification of the procedures)
Sharing and disseminating monitoring and evaluation findings
Fostering innovation and cooperation between the agri-food sectοr and the scientific and research community
Informing the members of NRN and the broader public on rural development topics
Participating and contributing to the ENRD (European Network for Rural Development) and the EIP-Network (European Innovation Partnership for agricultural productivity and sustainability) activities, cooperation with other NRNs and Networks of EU member states.
Preparing the rural development stakeholders for the next programming period.