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What is SHERPA?

Sustainable Hub to Engage into Rural Policies with Actors (SHERPA) was a four-year project (2019-2023) with 17 partners funded by the Horizon 2020 programme. Its aim was to gather knowledge that contributes to the formulation of recommendations for future policies relevant to EU rural areas, by creating a Science-Society-Policy interface which provides a hub for knowledge and policy.

SHERPA contributed to policy development in three main areas:

  1. Provision of inputs for the design of future research policies, with a focus on the preparation of work programmes under Horizon Europe.
  2. Support for implementation of policies relevant to rural areas in the programming period 2021-2027; and
  3. Supporting for setting the direction of rural policy in the next programming period.

To achieve this, the project:

  • Maped p the main drivers of future trends and dynamics of EU rural areas;
  • Established 41 Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs) as effective and sustainable Science-Society-Policy interfaces;
  • Created a shared knowledge base relevant to EU rural policy by taking stock of results of past and ongoing research projects;
  • Engaged in a dialogue between citizens, researchers and policy-makers across EU territories;
  • Formulated recommendations linked to different scenarios for the development of modern rural policies at European, national and regional levels, as well as for the future rural research agenda.

SHERPA’s final message

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