Interregional Workshop in Tallinn, Estonia

On 28–29 May 2025, partners of the Coop4RURALGov project will meet in Tallinn, Estonia, for an interregional workshop dedicated to the implementation of databased and knowledge-based rural proofing. Hosted at the Go Hotel Shnelli, this two-day event will offer a deep dive into how evidence, spatial data, and rural research can help improve policies for sparsely populated rural, coastal, and mountain areas.

📍 Day 1: Wednesday, May 28

The day begins at 9:30 with a welcome and reception, followed at 10:00 by opening statements from Estonian partners.

At 10:05, Antonia Husberg from the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will deliver the keynote speech, presenting Finland’s rural policy ecosystem and emphasizing the importance of spatial data, rural research, and participation in policy-making.

From 11:00 to 11:45, Holger Ehrlich (Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture) and Eneli Kindsiko (Foresight Centre, Parliament of Estonia) will present a survey on the future of spatial and temporal accessibility of local public services.

At 11:45, Aare Kasemets (Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture) will introduce a pilot regulatory impact assessment that analyzes the compliance of explanatory memoranda for draft acts, including differentiated impacts on urban, rural, and coastal areas.

Before lunch, from 12:00 to 13:00, Anne Põder and Taavi Kiisk from the Estonian University of Life Sciences will present preliminary results of a comparative study on rural proofing practices in Spain, Bulgaria, Ireland, and Estonia.

Following a lunch break from 13:00 to 14:00, the afternoon will continue with two working sessions:

• Session 1: Study validation (14:00–15:15)

• Session 2: Joint comparative study (15:30–16:15), with a short coffee break in between.

A summary of the day will close the official program at 16:15, and participants will reconvene at 19:30 for dinner, offering a space for informal exchange and networking.

📍 Day 2: Thursday, May 29

The second day focuses on forward-looking discussion and model development. From 9:00 to 11:00, Session 3 will explore how each partner country can build or expand its rural proofing model. Participants will map existing structures at the national, regional, or local level (the “as-is” scenario), and define what could be achieved by 2027 (“to-be”).

After a coffee break at 11:00, the workshop continues from 11:15 to 12:00, concluding with a summary and discussion of next steps.

From 12:00 to 13:00, a Steering Committee meeting (for project partners only) will take place, followed by lunch from 13:00 to 14:30, marking the end of the workshop.

This workshop is a key step in Coop4RURALGov’s commitment to cooperation for better rural governance. By grounding rural proofing in data, foresight, and local knowledge, partners aim to strengthen the tools and frameworks that help ensure policies work for all territories — especially those often overlooked.