30 de June de 2016
Organized by the RRN and led by the MAGRAMA innovation team, the meeting brought together innovation managers from various rural development programs.
June 28, 2016
Isabel Bombal Díaz, Advisory Member of the Directorate General for Rural Development and Forestry Policy, began by clarifying that the recently published regulatory bases are intended to promote the creation of supra-regional groups, the exchange of useful experiences, and the search for solutions to common problems and difficulties, as well as the exploitation of opportunities in the regions. Bombal emphasized the importance of disseminating information to identify synergies and avoid overlaps in projects, and in this regard, she underscored the role of the Regional Directorate of Rural Development (RNN).
Carolina Gutiérrez, from the Directorate General for Rural Development, emphasized that the budget is directly allocated to the creation of the operational group and the drafting of the innovative project.
Representatives from the Autonomous Communities reported on and discussed the approach to the AEI innovation measure in their RDPs, the functioning of the operational groups, and the execution of their projects. They reviewed the current status of the programming, the difficulties encountered, as well as the doubts and possible solutions.
During the meeting, representatives of the National Rural Network, Lourdes Barona and Lucía Martínez, explained the functions of the NRN within the European Innovation Partnership (EIP), which are based on the specific objective of promoting innovation in the agricultural sector, food production, forestry, and rural areas. In this regard, it should promote the formation of operational groups for the implementation of innovative projects, as well as facilitate the work of Thematic Focus Groups, disseminating the results within the framework of the EIP. An overview was provided of the NRN's activities and actions carried out in 2015 and 2016, and the NRN website and its innovation-related features were presented.
The day concluded with Javier Martín, from the Directorate-General for Rural Development, presenting the common form format designed by the European Commission, which is now operational for all Member States and RDPs. This form will facilitate data transfer for the dissemination of the results of operational groups and their innovative projects.
It was finally agreed to continue the work begun at the meeting through an online working group set up on the RRN website. This will allow AEI managers in the autonomous communities and the ministry to stay in touch and continue consulting and discussing key aspects of the measure.
LINKS OF INTEREST:
BBRR for the formation of supra-autonomous operational groups