The competition "Active Regions – Shaping Rural Futures" >>> was a pilot project initiated by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. The project was initiated in 2001 as a response on several food scandals and aimed in adjust the consumer protection in a new way as well as prove new funding approaches of an integrated rural development. For the analysis of the new approach the Federal Ministry authorized an accompanying research, which had the goals:
• to improve the steering of the competition Active Regions via prompt and
continued information respectively recommendations to the programme
level,
• to position the steering approach of Active Regions in the (regional-)
scientific discussion, and
• to create practical recommendations for an objective orientated
development of future policies for rural development.