Institute of

LV Rural Studies

Projects "Basic service provision"

Ongoing Projects

5-Länder-Evaluation: What are the effects of financing rural development on agriculture, on environment and well-being in rural areas?

In cooperation with the Thünen-Institute of Farm Economics, the Thünen-Institue of International Forestry and Forest Economics and entera the Thünen-Institute of Rural Studies evaluates rural develpoment programmes and measures within a multi-disciplinary team and approach. The Institute of Rural Studies is the leading partner. Main tasks are analyses regarding programme delivery and implementation, enviromental issues, the support of human capital and cooperation activities as well as rural development including the LEADER approach.

Changing provision of services of general interest in rural areas

The school shuts down, the village shop has closed a long time ago and wastewater taxes are rising year in and year out. Residential vacancies increase and municipalities only govern the scarcity of funds. Changing services of general interest may look like that. In order to supply the population, new solutions are needed.

Digitalisation of basic services in rural areas

Digital technologies can contribute to improve basic service provision, even in sparsely populated and peripheral regions. At the same time, there are obstacles to the creation of new types of digitally-based solutions, such as a lack of broadband connections, human resources or technical knowledge. With a focus on the field of medical care, the project will analyse which actors, processes and structures have a significant influence on the digitisation of basic services in rural areas at the local, regional and supraregional level and how innovative solutions can be supported.

How accessible are basic services in different regions?

Currently basic services are concentrated in cities and agglomerations. But does this mean that an under-supply exists in practice?

Finished Projects

Digitalization and social services in rural areas

With changing population structures social services face new demands. Rural areas often encounter special challenges. Can digitalization help to meet them?

Dynamics of local supply in rural areas

For approximately two thirds of the rural population in Germany, local supplies are not accessible within walking distance. Several political initiatives attempt to ensure the provision of local supply. In this research project, we examine trends in local supplies and distil recommendations for strategy building that aim for the maintenance of local supplies.

Evaluation 'Land(auf)Schwung'

Many peripheral rural regions are affected by unemployment, low wages, sparse infrastructure, out-migration and population ageing. The federal ministry of agriculture searches for new approaches for developing such regions. We research these new pilot programs concerning their feasibility and transferability.

Ex ante evaluation of Germany’s CAP Strategic Plan

For the next period of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy after 2020 the member states have to draw up national strategic plans. This project, designed as a formative evaluation, supports the drafting process in Germany.

Innovative Approaches to Public Services (InDaLE)

European countries follow different approaches to organising public services. Drawing on domestic and international model projects, this research seeks to establish the lessons that can be learned for the future design of public services in Germany.

Local supply in rural areas

In many villages, traditional small shops are disappearing and people without cars have to make major efforts to shop for food or to get other goods and services for everyday use. What should be done considering that the number of less mobile people will increase and younger people are moving to bigger cities? The study looks for solutions and evaluates their feasibility.

When regions get older and decline in population: adaptation and coping

The current debate on regional disparities in Germany, the differentiation of living conditions and changing provisions of public and private services of general interest focuses on peripheral depopulated areas. In these regions, many services of general interest were already reduced in the past. The population has thus to cope with deteriorating conditions of daily life, and both providers and users of infrastructures, shopping facilities as well as of social and cultural amenities bear comparatively higher costs. Yet long-term economic sustainability and accessibility of services will also ...

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