Start in Mountains

Mountain and rural areas (MRAs) make up nearly 30% of the EU’s land and are home to around 118 million people. However, these regions are experiencing steady population decline, losing about 0.1% annually between 2015 and 2020. This trend brings serious challenges: fewer public services, limited job opportunities, lower incomes, and poor access to transport and digital connectivity. Public authorities now face the urgent task of reversing this decline and making MRAs attractive places to live and work.

Innovation offers a valuable path forward. One promising concept is the Startup Villages model, which encourages small communities or networks of villages to embrace innovation and entrepreneurship. These villages aim to create supportive environments for startups, building dynamic and sustainable innovation ecosystems. 

The Start in Mountains (SIM) project is designed to foster such ecosystems in MRAs. Its goal is to support place-based innovation by enhancing local and regional policies that nurture entrepreneurship. SIM brings together seven partners from seven different European regions, with Euromontana as an advisory partner. The consortium represents both more and less developed areas, ensuring inclusive and balanced collaboration.

SIM promotes change through interregional cooperation and knowledge exchange, including thematic workshops and peer reviews, territorial mapping and a joint qualitative survey, regional reports and interregional analysis and engagement with local stakeholders.By sharing experiences, best practices, and insights, SIM aims to improve policy instruments. The ultimate objective is to help MRAs become vibrant, innovative, and sustainable communities.