The project GRACE – Growing Climate Resilience in Remote rural Areas through Community Empowerment is carried out by an international consortium under the European Horizon Mission.
Together with local stakeholders and research institutions, innovative, nature-based climate change adaptation solutions are being developed, tested, and transferred to other rural regions in selected demonstrator areas. The aim is to strengthen the capacity for action of small and medium-sized municipalities in remote regions, enabling them to better address climate risks while sustainably securing local quality of life and economic prospects. The Institute for Rural Development Research (IfLS) is responsible for the work package on co-creation of governance arrangements and assessment of the economic potential of climate adaptation solutions in rural regions. In this context, the IfLS supports the comparison and evaluation of the tested governance approaches, derives recommendations for their transferability to other regions, collaborates with partners on integration into scaling strategies, and provides support in data collection, indicator development, and analysis of the socio-economic conditions necessary to implement and disseminate the developed solutions in practice. By pooling expertise from science, regional administration, and practice, the project ensures that rural areas themselves become active shapers of a climate-resilient transformation.
The project is coordinated by the Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC) in Italy (www.cmcc.it). Further information on the project is available on the European Commission's CORDIS portal: Project details.