Annual Work Programme 2022


Final conference programming period: The final annual network conference in this programming period is intended to provide both a review of the implementation of the Rural Development programme 14-20 and its achievements, as well as to build a bridge to the CAP Strategic Plan. October 2022

Rural Development project competition: On the suggestion of the program administration of the federal states, about 50 best-practice projects of rural development from the entire programming period will be identified and presented in the network newsletter throughout the year. The nominees will receive additional public attention through a public vote or an auditorium vote at the final conference in October 2022. Year-round

Subject Area Agriculture and Forestry including the Value Chain

Conference "Organic Action Programme 2023+": The aim of this event is to discuss the content and orientation of the Organic Action Programme 2023+ in a dialogue with experts. March 2022

Conference "Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and its impact on regional production": The aim of this event is to jointly discuss possibilities as well as challenges of mobilizing private funds for the compensation of management practices promoting biodiversity. May 2022

Online meeting "Ecosystem services as an income opportunity for forestry": the aim of this event is to create awareness of ecosystem services in forest management and to highlight possible examples of ecosystem services. June 2022

Subject Area Environment, Biodiversity and Nature Conservation

Feedback on the ÖPUL and AZ participation process: a broad participation process was carried out as part of the preparation of the national CAP Strategic Plan. To improve such processes for the future, the stakeholders involved in the discussions on the future ÖPUL (Austrian Agri-Environmental Programme) and the future AZ (compensation for disadvantaged areas) are to be consulted. The insights gained will be processed accordingly. Spring 2022

Webinar "ÖPUL and compensation for disadvantaged areas (AZ) in the CAP Strategic Plan": As a conclusion of the extensive participation process, the ÖPUL planned for the CAP Strategic Plan 2023+ as well as the design of the new AZ will be presented in the course of a webinar and the further schedule for their implementation will be presented. First half of 2022

Subject Area Climate Change and Climate Protection

Webinar “Agriculture and Air Pollution Control in Practice”: This webinar, which is explicitly aimed at practitioners, will convey how to best contribute to air pollution control and to the reduction of ammonia emissions. Fall 2022

Conference "Cooperation Soil Forum 2022 - Field Soil Science for Practice and Modern Science": The one-and-a-half to two-day event is dedicated to the topic of field soil science. The primary focus is a practice day with farmers. Building on this, a second (half-) day will be devoted to scientific preparation and further processing of the collected information. October 2022

Subject Area LEADER, Basic Services and Municipalities

Practical workshop "LEADER impact method": In this workshop, Local Action Groups (LAGs) will be introduced to the new LEADER impact method using practical examples. In addition, there will be the opportunity to work on open questions regarding the preparation and submission of LEADER strategies (LES). 18 January 2022

Innovative workshop "International exchange of experiences - youth in rural areas": This exchange of experiences between Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg is to be carried out in the form of an online meeting with the aim of encouraging regions to place greater emphasis on the topic of youth in the future funding period. May 2022

European LEADER Conference (LINC): LINC 2022 will take place in the Czech Republic and will include the following already established formats: Workshops on a theme of innovative rural development, field trips in the host region, and networking and experience-sharing opportunities for approximately 300 LAG representatives from across the EU. June 21-24, 2022

Meeting of the National Rural Networks (NRNs): This meeting of the "National Rural Networks" (NRNs) of the EU Member States is designed and organized by the Austrian Rural Network in cooperation with the "European Network for Rural Development" (ENRD). The focus is on the exchange of know-how and experiences between the national networking bodies. June or September 2022

LEADER Annual Conference 2022: The focus of the LEADER Annual Conference is to reflect on the experiences of the past funding period - on the level of the LEADER regions and on the level of the managing authorities. September 2022

International LEADER excursion Luxembourg: In 2022, the international LEADER excursion will take place in Luxembourg. The aim of the cross-national exchange between Germany, Austria and Luxembourg is the deeper examination of a topic, learning from others as well as the initiation of possible cooperation projects. October 2022

Online workshop "Feedback phase and new possibilities for project implementation": At this workshop, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism will present findings from the first stage of the submission process for the call for proposals of the new LEADER period. 4th quarter 2022

Subject Area Innovation

In 2022, essential preliminary work will be done for the further development of the AKIS ("Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System") in Austria and the improved networking of system-relevant actors in the new CAP period. Specifically, the following three AKIS priority measures will be dealt with:

  • Online workshops for the user-centered systematic development of the Austrian AKIS: Implementation of two half-day online workshops to concretize the needs of the actors as well as the need for further development of the AKIS and to develop possible setup- and process structures of an "AKIS platform". 1st quarter 2022

  • Development of a strategic concept for the further development and promotion of the Austrian AKIS: Based on the results of the first workshop and with the involvement of experts, a strategic concept will be developed for the further development and promotion of the Austrian AKIS. 2nd quarter 2022

  • Target-group-specific information on AKIS for communication - case studies showing the specific added value for stakeholders (use cases): To ensure that the understanding of AKIS and, above all, the added value of such networking is also known by all stakeholders before the start of the new funding period, a) the AKIS concept and the benefits of an effective AKIS in practice, b) the basic principles and framework conditions of the Austrian AKIS as well as c) its potential for improvement and possible measures to leverage this potential must be communicated in a target-group-specific manner. For this reason, information should be prepared and disseminated accordingly. 3rd quarter 2022

Continuation of the innovation broker in the area of EIP-AGRI: In 2022, in addition to the ongoing exchange of information and experience in the area of the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI), the focus of the innovation broker is primarily on the networking of the Operational Groups and support in the dissemination of results. Year-round

Update of the EIP-AGRI Practice Sheets: In December 2020, the Austrian Rural Network published an overview of the Austrian Operational Groups. This publication clearly describes the contents and objectives of the Austrian EIP projects on two pages each. It is to be updated in 2022. 3rd quarter 2022

Networking meeting of the Austrian Operational Groups: Targeted networking of the Operational Groups in Austria is intended to promote exchanges and learning from each other. The networking meeting will focus on "cross-fertilization" and "peer learning". September 2022