The National Rural Network (NRN) of Bulgaria is part of the European Network for Rural Development, the objective of which is to Support EU member states in the implementation of the rural development policy.
NRN Supports the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry in the identification and fulfilment of rural development priorities and the changes that need to be made in the existing policy in order to improve the effect of its implementation, to improve the dialogue with stakeholders, to expand their participation in the decision-making process and the process of planning, programming, monitoring and implementation of this policy, to raise awareness among the wide public and potential beneficiaries; to promote innovations in agriculture, food production, forestry and rural areas.
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NRN takes action based on the national context and the rural development policy, the administrative and social culture of stakeholders at local, regional and national level and will fulfil the current needs of the members that will join the organisation.
The National Rural Network is a component of the Technical Assistance measure of RDP 2014-2020. It has been created for the purpose of uniting all stakeholders (individuals, organisations, administrations and the business) who take interest in the development of rural areas on the territory of Bulgaria. The unification among stakeholders and active organisations in a network aims at contributing to the efficient implementation of the rural development programmes through dissemination of information, exchange of knowledge and good practices and development of analyses to Support the implementation of the programmes.
Participation in NRN is voluntary and members need to share a commitment to Support and stimulate rural development. The network develops and strengthens stakeholders’ capacity to take decisions, to make choices, to establish and Support public institutions and to promote innovations in rural areas. The national network is a unit that links the state administration, local organisations, individuals and commercial companies based on partnership and cooperation initiatives.
The managing authority is responsible for the application of the activities that are part of the technical assistance, including the ones related to the National Rural Network.
The functioning of NRN is regulated by the European legislation and by the main regulations of EAFRD. The need of a structure for management of NRN, its activities and operations is laid down in Art. 54 of Regulation (EU) No. 1305/2013.
The organisation and institutionalisation of NRN is subject to the discretion of the state government and NRN may be either institutionalised as a structure that is part of the state administration (the ministry of agriculture or other structure thereof) or its management may be delegated to an external contractor after conducting a tender procedure.
Based on the state’s decision laid down in RDP 2014-2020, the management of the Network was delegated to an external contractor after conducting a tender procedure. The selected specialised NRN Network Support Unit reports to the MA through interim and final reports of the implemented activities.
Structure of NRN
The structure of NRN, as well as the interrelations between the Network Support Unit and the Managing Authority, are defined in subsection 17.3 of RDP 2014-2020 and are presented in the organogram below:
Primary objectives of NRN
To increase stakeholders’ involvement in rural development;
To inform the wide public and potential beneficiaries about the rural development policy and funding opportunities;;
To achieve higher quality of implementation of the Rural Development Programme;
To promote innovations in agriculture, food production, forestry and rural areas.
Priorities of NRN
To promote strong partnerships between the stakeholders in the rural development sector and to serve as a single national platform;;
To stimulate the application of an integrated approach to rural development;
To work for building the capacity and social capital in rural regions;;
To provide access to information and opportunities for exchange of good practices;
To promote rural development in accordance with the principles of the LEADER initiative;
To represent and stand for the stakeholders’ interests in the course of policy-making and decision-making at national level..
NRN and the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD)
The European Network for Rural Development has been established to unite all stakeholders for the purpose of obtaining better rural development results in the EU.
The National Rural Network cooperates with ENRD and the rural development networks of all EU member states.
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The European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) was established at European level to serve as a centre for exchange of information on how the policy, programmes, projects and other rural development initiatives work in practice and how they could be improved in order to achieve more.
ENRD aims at involving and reaching all parties that are interested in and committed to rural development in Europe.
The primary stakeholders of ENRD include: national rural networks, Managing Authorities under and payment agencies under RDP, European organisations, advisory services in the agricultural sector, researchers in the field of agriculture and rural regions, as well as other organisations and individuals who have interest in rural development.
The 4 primary objectives of ENRD for the current programme period 2014-2020 are as follows:
- To increase the involvement of stakeholders in rural development;
- To improve the quality of Rural Development Programmes;
- To better inform on the benefits of the Rural Development policy;
- To support the evaluation of the Rural Development Programmes.
Each EU member state has a National Rural Network, which provides different level of support to the rural development process at national level.
You can find more information on the work of each National Rural Network on the websites of:
- Romanian NRN website
Romanian National Rural Development Network
- Greek NRN website
Greek National Rural Network
- Cypriot NRN website
Cypriot National Rural Network
- Maltese NRN website
Maltese National Rural Network
- Italian NRN website
Italian National Rural Network
- Croatian NRN website
Croatian National Rural Network
- Hungarian NRN website
Hungarian National Rural Network
- Slovak NRN website
Slovenian National Rural Development Network
- Polish NRN website
Polish National Rural Network
- Lithuanian NRN website
Lithuanian National Rural Network
- Latvia NRN website
Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre
- Estonian NRN website
Estonian Agricultural Research Centre
- Finnish NRN website
Finnish National Rural Network
- Swedish NRN website
Swedish National Rural Network
- Czech NRN website
Czech National Rural Network
- Austrian NRN website
Austrian National Rural Network
- Slovenian NRN website
Slovenian National Rural Network
- Spanish NRN website
Spanish National Rural Network
- French NRN website
French National Rural Network
There are two operating National Rural Networks in Belgium:
- Flemish NRN website
Flemish National Rural Network
- Walloon NRN website
Walloon’s National Rural Network
- Luxembourg NRN website
Luxembourg National Rural Network
- German NRN website
German National Rural Network
- Dutch NRN website
Dutch National Rural Network
- Danish NRN website
Danish National Rural Network
- Portuguese NRN website
Portuguese National Rural Network
- Irish NRN website
Irish National Rural Network
There are four operating National Rural Networks in Great Britain:
- English NRN website
England Network on Rural Development
- Northern Ireland NRN website
Rural Network for Northern Ireland
- Scottish NRN website
Scottish Rural Network
- Welsh NRN website
Wales Rural Network
