The contribution of community-led social economy intiatives to local development in rural areas
This report conducted by Euricse researchers is developed within the framework of the ESIRA – Enhancing Social Innovation in Rural Areas project (Horizon Europe) and examines the role of community-led social economy initiatives in addressing the key challenges faced by rural territories across Europe.
Rural areas continue to experience significant structural pressures, including depopulation, population ageing, limited access to essential services, unemployment, social exclusion, and environmental degradation. Traditional top-down and sectoral development policies have often proven insufficient to tackle these complex and interconnected challenges. Against this backdrop, the report highlights the importance of a neo-endogenous development approach, which combines local community engagement with supportive institutional frameworks.
The study focuses on the social economy as a strategic driver of rural resilience and inclusive local development. The social economy encompasses cooperatives, mutual benefit societies, associations, foundations, and social enterprises – organisations that prioritise people and social or environmental objectives over profit maximisation. These entities are characterised by participatory governance, limited profit distribution, and the reinvestment of surpluses for collective benefit.
Based on qualitative research conducted in seven countries (Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Serbia, and Spain) and nine rural pilot areas, the report provides a comparative, multi-level analysis of how social economy initiatives contribute to local development. It draws on country reports, stakeholder interviews, focus groups with Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs), and an extensive literature review. It also analyzes the role and contribution of social economy organizations in addressing the complex challenges of rural areas and in promoting sustainable and participatory local development, specifically by creating and enhancing employment, strengthening local services and resources, supporting strategic economic activities, managing common goods, consolidating social cohesion, and fostering social innovation in rural territories.
The findings highlight the need to strengthen policy recognition, build local capacities, and foster stakeholder cooperation to fully unlock the potential of the social economy in rural areas. Social economy organisations go beyond service provision, acting as transformative agents that create economic and social value redistributed within the community. Their participatory governance models enhance democratic engagement and long-term sustainability, making them especially suited to rural contexts. Placing the social economy at the core of rural development strategies supports more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable rural futures.
Regional Reports
Within the framework of the ESIRA project, comprehensive Regional Reports for all nine ESIRA pilot regions, providing detailed insights into the social and economic situations of these rural communities have also been published and can be downloaded at the following link.
The nine pilot regions covered are Burgos (Spain), Abruzzo and Trentino (Italy), Northern Hungary and Northern Great Plain (Hungary), Zachodniopomorskie and Leski-Bieszczadzki (Poland), Jablanica & Pčinja (Serbia), Druskininkai (Lithuania), and Innlandet (Norway). Going beyond statistics, the reports analyse local vulnerabilities and the drivers of social exclusion with input from regional stakeholders. They provide a solid evidence base for upcoming project deliverables focused on benchmarking social exclusion and analysing social economy initiatives in rural areas.
Download the full report here below
