National Smart Villages Programme – Promoting the concept of Smart Villages by supporting strategy development and pilot actions in LEADER LAGs in Estonia

The National Smart Villages Program was promoted by the LAG Tartu Rural Development Association in Estonia. It was designed as a national LEADER cooperative project offering support and training activities to villages interested in developing smart village strategies and innovative pilot activities. As an added value, the project created a network of Estonian smart villages to increase local communities’ capacity and awareness of their development potential. Additionally, links were established with the European Smart Villages Network, Smart Rural 21. A total of 13 local action groups participated in the National Smart Villages Program, involving twenty-four villages/regions across Estonia. It provided participating LAGs with valuable experience in applying the smart village concept at the local level, with follow-up activities planned through their LEADER local development strategies.