From grassroots innovation to EU policy: governance pathways linking local action and European strategies

Explores how bottom-up, place-based innovation—driven by municipalities, civil society, private actors & cultural organisations—can inform EU policymaking and strengthen Cohesion Policy. Bringing together the Horizon projects FUTURAL, SMART ERA & RURACTIVE, it examines how digital, social and governance innovation emerge from local experimentation and interact with top-down approaches. Discussion will focus on governance mechanisms that enable local knowledge and inclusive participation to feed into the post-2027 framework and the right to stay. Addressing the gap between hyper-local needs and EU policy, it identifies ways to scale local innovation while reinforcing territorial resilience.