Centre for Welsh Politics and Society / WISERD@Aberystwyth researchers are involved in a new European study to investigate interactions between rural and urban areas and how they can be more effectively managed. The ROBUST (Rural-Urban Outlooks: Unlocking Synergies) project, funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme and led by Wageningen University, was launched with a meeting in the Netherlands in June, and will run for five years.
The CWPS-WISERD contribution is led by Professor Michael Woods and Dr Jesse Heley, who will be working closely with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), who are also partners in the consortium. By linking academic and policy partners, ROBUST hopes to ensure that the research is focused on issues that are relevant to policy-makers and produces practical recommendations for implementation. CWPS-WISERD and the WLGA will be working together on a series of case studies in Wales that will be looking at interactions between rural and urban areas relating to sustainable food systems, cultural connections and public services.
