Landsbygdsnätverket

The Swedish Rural Network

The Rural Network is a platform to gather and engage rural actors in Sweden. We are a membership based network and the members are representing various organisations and authorities which are important for the development of the activities and companies based in rural and coastal areas.

Together, we are more than one hundred network members who cooperate and learn from each other. The goal is to create a sustainable development in rural and costal areas all over the country. Our goals are:

  • Increase stakeholder participation in rural development, including fishery and aquaculture as well as Community Led Local Development, CLLD.
  • Increase the quality of implementation in the Rural Development Program, the Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Program and CLLD.
  • Inform the public and potential shareholders on the program possibilities
  • Promote innovations

Within the rural network we are creating an arena for mutual learning and cooperation to contribute to a sustainable development in Swedish rural and coastal areas. The cooperation is done through thematic working groups and subnetworks in specific thematic areas.

Together we arrange joint activities and events like online and offline network meetings, virtual think tanks and workshops.

All organisations and authorities representing national interests, and are important for rural development, can be members of the network. This also includes fisheries, aquaculture and CLLD.

As part of the network, the member organisations learn from each other for the benefit of themselves and their members. Thereby, they are also contributing to the common goals for rural development in the EU. They help each other to meet the rural challenges in a better way and to use the possibilities for a sustainable rural development. 

All members have a say in the network activity plan. Members in thematic working groups can also represent the whole network, with financing from the network budget, in meetings and conferences around Europe.

The member organisations are the base of the network. Furthermore, the network consists of its thematic working groups, the steering committee and the network support unit. 

The Steering Committee

The Swedish Board of Agriculture have been commissioned by the Swedish Ministry of Business to be managing authority for the network. The ministry, therefore, elects the steering committee and secure that the network is funtioning well.

The Steering Committee consists of 15 representatives from different key actors within the network. These actors reflects the goals in the activity plan and the overall common goals for the EU programs. Their task is to set the priorities in the network action plan based on the expressed needs from the members and initiatives, and to monitor the results of these activities.

The Network Support Unit

The main task of the Network Support Unit is to facilitate learning and cooperation among the member organisations participating in the network activities. The support unit has administrators handling the economy and logistics for events and conferences. There are communication officers working with the different channels for communication and supporting the thematic working groups. At the support unit there are also coordinators acting as secretaries to the thematic working groups and the sub networks, as well as helping the groups to get the activities running. The head of the network support unit is leads the work.

The Swedish Rural Network is also a part of the EU CAP Network. Here we exchange experience and foster cooperation with rural actors in the other EU member states.

Read more on the website of EU CAP Network Länk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster.

Within the EU CAP Network, we are also part of a regional network of support units from the Baltic Sea countries.

Contact

Do you have questions about the Swedish Rural Network? Do not hesitate to get in touch with:

Ingrid Whitelock
Communications Coordinator

+46 (0)36-15 59 09

Maria Gustafsson

Maria Gustafsson
Head of Support Unit

+46 (0)36-15 51 04