"<< Background >>The lead entity is a municipality in rural Galicia (OUTES) with a population of 6,200 inhabitants, fully committed to generating value in the primary sectors and promoting quality local services to settle the population and prevent the migration to the cities. The municipality has a Local Development Agency dedicated to the promotion of the entrepreneurial culture, with special focus on the promotion of the rural and social economy. In its daily work, this Agency has detected several problems/needs that are common to other countries of the European Union:1) Ageing populationAccording to the European Commission, ""Europe is ageing very dramatically, a process brought about by a significant increase in life expectancy and lower birth rates"". It is estimated that one in three regions will experience a population decline in the period between 2008 and 2030. According to Eurostat, this is most pronounced among the Baltic and Nordic countries, but also in countries of the former Soviet orbit (Bulgaria, Romania, eastern Germany), as well as the south (Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy, Croatia and the regions of central France).2) Abandonment of rural areas (Emptying Europe)According to the German think tank BBR, Europe's population is moving from the countryside to the cities. This transition, which began in the 20th century, is now reaching its peak. No matter where you look, rural land is being emptied for the benefit of the cities. Spain, together with the Netherlands and Belgium, is one of the EU countries with the smallest population living in rural areas. In Spain, only one in four (25.7%) inhabitants live in rural areas. According to World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects, in 2018 the percentage of rural population in Ireland was 36.83, in Croatia 43.05, in Italy 29.56 and in Germany 23.3) Lack of an intelligent support network for entrepreneurship, as well as lack of instruments for itThe municipality of Outes belongs to several local support networks, but there is a lack of networks at European level. The rest of the partners do not have an intelligent support network for entrepreneurship that facilitates the transfer of successful business models for rural areas. Also, there are no methodologies and instruments adapted to this type of specialised advice.4) Climate change and lack of awareness of the opportunities offered by the Circular Economy (CE)The CE focuses on the revaluation of natural resources and seeks to optimise them by increasing alternative uses, among other things. All those natural resources that are being wasted by letting rural areas die are an invaluable source of income. The circular economy must be promoted in rural areas, because it is in these rural areas where these resources are abundant, and where formulas can best be studied to revalue and optimise them to the highest possible degree.CIRCULAR.rur aims to develop the adaptive capacity of the rural environment to climate change, which is particularly affecting Europe's rural areas. One of the main challenges for rural development policy makers and practitioners (Local Development Agents) is to maximise the potential of emerging climate resilience opportunities such as CE.Providing an answer to Europe's future rural entrepreneurs, and improving their climate resilience to become real drivers of change through the application of CE principles, contributes directly to achieving UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.<< Objectives >>The overall purpose of CIRCULAR.rur will be to promote the transfer of innovative CE knowledge and the development of new CE-based business models that respond to the expectations of national and European labour markets and provide new opportunities for activation to face current challenges, fostering more modern and sustainable rural environments, through the intelligent support of rural development professionals to future entrepreneurs in rural Europe.Specific objectives:O1: To analyse the success factors that determine the viability of rural circular economy business models. O2: To foster strategic cooperation at European level through the creation of a transnational network for the activation of EU rural environments through CE.O3: To create a favourable framework for the transfer of Circular Economy knowledge between the rural community (development agents, enterprises, students and rural population in general) and EU university and technology centres.O4: To boost the creation of smart support and training mechanisms and instruments to foster applied innovation for business development in European rural environments.O5: To provide the business support agents from European rural areas, with new knowledge, capacities and skills based on CE.O6: To raise awareness of the European VET schools' educational community about the CE approach and its potential for rural areas.CIRCULAR.rur will function as a knowledge generation network that will help to get an overall picture on the success factors of entrepreneurial business models linked to CE applicable to rural areas in the EU and in terms of capacity building needs of Local Development Agents and professionals for intelligent advice on new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas.CIRCULAR.rur considers rural development and/or employment professionals as its priority target group. Moreover, as CE is a multidimensional process, this project also addresses stakeholders linked to rural development in a broad sense: trainers, students, professionals in need of training in cross-cutting CE skills, young people, rural inhabitants, local and/or rural development associations and rural women.CIRCULAR.RUR will have a high impact by informing on best practices in the applicability of CE principles in the European rural environment, capacity building and transfer of technical and scientific knowledge related to CE, influencing the target group and recipients through the activities, deliverables, training and methodologies developed during its implementation and by improving the practices of smart support to the future circular entrepreneur. The results of the project will be transferable in the long term to VET schools and universities in any European country.<< Implementation >>In order to facilitate the implementation of the project, the activities have been organised into different Working Groups and assigned to a partner for coordination, thus ensuring an equitable distribution:WG1 Coordination and Management1.1. Financial and administrative management.1.2. Organisation of 4 transnational meetings of the Steering Committee.1.3. Internal evaluation of the project activities.Leader: OUTESTimetable: 01.11.2021 - 01.11.2023WG2 Dissemination and communication2.1 Planning and coordination of the project communication activities 2.2 Organisation of the project launch event2.3 Development of the website and design of a corporate identity for the project2.4 Dissemination of the project on social networks2.5 Development and distribution of the project newsletter2.6 Design and distribution of the project e-brochure2.7 Dissemination of the project results in the promotion and communication activities of each partner2.8 Organisation of stakeholder workshops 2.9 Organisation of events to disseminate the project's results (pilot sessions)2.10 Organisation of the European seminar in Brussels2.11 Organisation of the Final forum2.12 Promotion, dissemination and exploitation of the results of the project within the Erasmus+ platformLeader: LAG ZSTimetable: 01.11.2021 - 01.11.2023WG3 Smart advice on circular economy business models for rural development3.1 Development of mechanisms and methodologies for smart counselling on new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas.3.2 Comparative analysis of success factors for the elaboration of a feasibility assessment test of rural CE projects3.3 Development of a toolbox for smart specialisation in new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas, adapted to the Green, Circular and Blue Economy and accessible to people with functional diversity and/or vulnerable groups.Leader: HWWITimetable: 01.11.2021 - 30.06.2022WG4: Capacity building for smart advice on new circular business opportunities in rural Europe4.1 Defining key competences for smart counselling on circular entrepreneurship in rural areas4.2 Development of the contents, format, activities, assessment and learning sequences for the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)4.3 Organisation of a pilot intensive training programme (for local agents, trainers and other professionals supporting entrepreneurship in rural areas). It will include study visits and pilot activities with VET schools4.4 Evaluation of the results of the pilot training programme and transfer of improvements to the final version of the MOOC.Leader: WINTimetable: 01.03.2022 - 28.02.2023WG5: Knowledge transfer for the new European ruralities5.1 Creation and articulation of a transnational network for the promotion and development of the rural environment in the European Union through the Circular Economy5.2 Design of Circular.Rur Lab (open digital platform of intelligent specialisation for advice on CE initiatives, dedicated to training, accompanying and exploring, reflecting on and disseminating knowledge and experiences related to this topic).5.3 Pilot training sessions with SMEs, entrepreneurship support associations, local administrations and VET centres.Leader: CAPANNORITimetable: 01.09.2022 – 01.11.2023<< Results >>The results will advance the innovative character of rural development programmes and generate a significant toolkit of smart circular entrepreneurship support tools to be used by rural development practitioners and other stakeholders to support the transformation and development of rural enterprises to face the challenges of rural depopulation, lack of generational change and climate change.These are the expected results in relation to the specific Working Groups (WGs):1) Joint methodology for smart advice on new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas (PI1).2) Infographics of best practices of sustainable business models in rural areas (accessible with pictograms)3) Digital mapping of best practices (incorporating the previous deliverable)4) Benchmarking study on success factors of businesses based on the Circular Economy5) Toolbox for smart specialisation in new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas, adapted to the Green, Circular and Blue Economy and accessible to people with functional diversity and/or vulnerable groups (PI2)6) Digital diagnostic questionnaire (to check the viability of a business model)7) Smart Advice App8) MOOC for smart counselling on circular entrepreneurship in rural areas9) Training of trainers (Ireland) to validate and improve the MOOC10) MOOC Programme Evaluation Report11) Final version of the MOOC (PI3)12) Transnational network for the promotion and development of the rural environment in the EU through the CE13) Collaborative platform for training and smart mentoring of rural entrepreneurs in circular economy (PI4)14) 5 Multiplier events (1 European seminar, 3 Pilot sessions and 1 Final forum)In relation to transversal WGs:1) Intermediate and final financial and progress reports2) 4 coordination meetings (agenda, minutes, photo archive)3) Evaluation plan and intermediate and final reports4) Operational communication plan with an open access strategy; press clipping5) Website, creation of logo and project identity6) 100 contacts per partner7) Project account on 3 social networks8) 4 issues of the e-newsletter (3,200 distributions in total)9) Project presentation e-leaflet and video of results with testimonies (800 e-leaflets and 800 videos distributed in total) 10) Project space on the partners' website11) 1 Presentation event12) 4 Workshops with local stakeholders12) 5 multiplier events13) 1 project results publication on the Erasmus+ Platform.Once completed, the project will have provided strategic keys for the smart support of future circular entrepreneurs in rural areas and especially women and vulnerable groups living in rural areas. It will also have contributed to training and transferring advanced knowledge in relation to the circular economy to local development agents.The project will also contribute to raise awareness among the educational community of European VET schools about the CE approach and its potential for rural areas as an element of resilience to the challenge of climate change, promoting the generation of a discourse on the need for behavioural change regarding preferences, consumption habits and lifestyles of rural youth, extending it to the whole rural community.CIRCULAR.rur will be a forum for transformative reflection and exchange of best practices for the transfer of CE knowledge between the rural community (development agents, businesses, entrepreneurship support professionals, students and the rural population in general) and EU university and technology centres on the most potential measures to have a retaining effect on rural businesses."