LIVERUR’s first milestone, the benchmarking study on rural traditional business models in Europe, is a fact! The purpose of this benchmark study is to help entrepreneurs both “existing” and “to-be”, to improve and renovate their business activities in the rural regions. Moreover, the aim is to identify, describe and benchmark different business models in terms of starting conditions, obstacle faced, enabling factors, financing mechanisms, generation of added value, jobs and other potential environmental and social benefits, gender issues, attractiveness to young workers, and the distribution of the value generated.
This project’s task was consisted in the systemization of benchmarking criteria in order to compare traditional value – chain approaches. The objective of this task was to identify criteria of analysis and the weights attached to these criteria in order to create a benchmarking scale.
For making this happen, three steps were followed:
- Literature, projects and initiatives were revised, aiming at identifying relevant criteria for the evaluation of the rural business models and development of the tool for data collection from the internal and external stakeholders.
- Feedback from partners regarding the proposed tool and criteria, were collected.
- After receiving a first review of the criteria, all the comments were summarized, guidelines on how to use the tool were prepared and disseminated between the consortium members.
From the previous steps, a table of criteria were arised for the identification of the most relevant indicators for the benchmark study in the fields of:
- Economics: e.g. Investments in innovation and research and relationship with clients
- Environmental: e.g. Green jobs in the local economy, water consumption reduction
- Social Innovation: e.g. Gender equality, number of improved products/services
- Technology: e.g. Integration of Digital Technology and Digital performance
- Infrastructure: e.g. Contribution to newly developed transport services and Logistics
These criteria were used in comparison with the pilot territories in order to provide a global picture of the rural traditional business models in Europe and were comprised the “Report on the creation of the Benchmark Study”.
To read the “Report on the creation of the Benchmark Study” click here.
For more details, visit out project’s official website https://liverur.eu/.
