PLACE-BASED POLICIES FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT - CRETE, GREECE (CASE STUDY)

The following case study on the Region of Crete in Greece is organised in four parts:

The context is presented in part one with developments on regionalisation in Greece, a rapid overview of the main demographic and economic features of Crete, a profile of Cretan rural areas and of agriculture, tourism and innovation in the Region. Part two is constituted by an analysis of the evolution of regional and rural development policy in Greece with specific attention to niche Cretan products, tourism and the role of Higher Education Institutions in the local economy. Part three analyses national territorial development policy implementation in the Crete region, focusing both on financing and place-based policy governance. Part four contains an overall evaluation of regional, rural development, tourism and R&D and innovation policies as applied in the Region of Crete and of efforts to foster local initiative, with recommendations to improve their efficiency.