Innovation and Entrepreneurship as Tools for Rural Development: Case Study Region of Vera, Extremadura, Spain

Abstract

In the mid-1980s, within European institutions, a concern for economic and social cohesion of the territory becomes increasingly important, and the possible effects that the future reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) could have on the rural environment. In this context, the European Commission, on an experimental basis, launches the LEADER Community Initiative (acronyms that corresponded to the French term Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l’Economie Rurale), which, in the Spanish case, is complemented by two editions of the PRODER Programme (Programme of Development and Economic Diversification of Rural areas). The main objective of these programmes is the creation of employment in alternative sectors to agriculture with the aim of retaining, in rural areas, the population driven out from the primary sector. To achieve this objective, a novel approach is used, which, among other issues, gives essential importance to the promotion of innovative projects by small local promoters. Thus, innovation and entrepreneurship become the instruments chosen by endogenous rural development programmes. Based on the methodology of the case study, this research aims to analyse the practical application of this type of programme in the region of La Vera, Extremadura (Spain), focusing its attention on those investments that, thanks to the initiative of modest promoters, sought the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises, the provision of services and the promotion of crafts. This research provides interesting conclusions regarding the projects implemented, their type of promoters, the innovative content of the investments, as well as the long-term viability of the projects carried out within these two lines of action.