COnnecting Remote Areas with digital infrastructure and services

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Digital divide across rural areas of the NSR is limiting their attractiveness for families and businesses. This phenomenon represents a market failure, as infrastructural investment is not adequately delivered due to high financial risks. Digital skills also fail to meet a certain level of progress. Local authorities are often not aware of their future-coming digital needs and end-users have limited skills to create an effective level of demand. CORA targets this and emphasizes on main components of digital divide namely digital infrastructure, services and skills. It enables local authorities to identify their common challenges and empowers them to exchange experiences and test innovative solutions to create an advanced digital environment. To do so, CORA partners develop a model called SSE “Systematic Synergy Enhancement model”, which provides a comprehensive set of guiding measures towards digitalization in rural areas. It employs fixed and mobile digital hub concept for providing in-place advice, technology demonstration and incubator spaces. Built on Training the Trainer, face-to-face and online training concept will be tested to enhance digital skills. 10 regions will demonstrate one or more dimensions of digitalization depending on their baselines and local priorities. The results will be utilized to formulate digital strategies for rural areas to be streamlined to the regional, national and European authorities and influence EU digital inclusion policy. Information added on 2020-05-18, regarding the mitigation of the effects of COVID-19 (the coronavirus pandemic that started in 2019) (English language only): CORA's support to building digital infrastructure, skills and services creates resilience towards unexpected events like Covid-19. For example, by helping regions provide access for citrizens to reliable infrastructure and online services such as e-health, e-education, e-administration. Also, the regions are equipped to ensure companies are well connected and have adequate skills necessary in flexible working conditions (e.g. like working from home) and to relocate and adapt workflows. Flexibility and skills help them to continue production and providing services even in times of physical limitations.

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