Comparative Study on Rural Proofing in Spain, Bulgaria, Ireland, and Estonia in Coop4RuralGOV

Objective: the aim of the project was to compare the current state of rural proofing in the Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland and the Foral Region of Navarre (Spain), incl. the present cooperation, implementation and challenges related to rural proofing of polices; and to analyze ways to better integrate the consideration of rural needs into policy planning and implementation.  The comparative study was implemented under its parent INTERREG project: Cooperation for Rural Governance* Rural Proofing. Cooperation for better sparsely populated rural, coastal and mountain focused governance (Coop4RURALGov) 

Project activities: synthesis of situational analysis of present state of rural proofing in four countries and a document review; questionnaire survey of rural stakeholders in the four countries; focus groups; interregional workshops. 

Period: 

• Comparative study: 09.05.24- 12.06.25
• Coop4RURALGov:  01.03.23- 31.05.27

Funder: 

• Comparative study: Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture of the Republic of Estonia
• Coop4RURALGov:  Interreg Europe

Report of the comparative study: 

Põder, A., & Kiisk, T. (2025). Comparative study on rural proofing in Spain, Bulgaria, Ireland, and Estonia.  Final report. Tartu: Estonian University of Life Sciences. https://doi.org/10.15159/EDS.REP.25.01link opens in new page:

Web page for Coop4RuralGov https://www.interregeurope.eu/coop4ruralgovlink opens in new page