Home Sociotechnical infrastructuring for digital participation in rural development: A survey of public administrators in Germany
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Sociotechnical infrastructuring for digital participation in rural development: A survey of public administrators in Germany

  • Veronika Stein , Christian Pentzold ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Sarah Peter and Simone Sterly
Published/Copyright: July 11, 2023
Communications
From the journal Communications Volume 50 Issue 1

Abstract

The “smart village” flourishes – at least in policy papers that envision the revitalization of rural areas through the civic deployment of networked media and telecommunications. Yet, while such aspirations are widespread, little is known about the views of those tasked with supervising and supporting digitally driven public participation for rural progress. To address the lack of insight into what these intermediary administrators conceive as catalysts and challenges for the realization of smart village conceptions, we surveyed representatives of regions in Germany who oversee rural development schemes, most notably within the European LEADER framework. For these key actors, digital participation does not mainly hinge on broadband access and IT availability. Instead, they emphasize the importance of human and administrative resources as well as multi-actor collaboration, which we discuss in terms of digital readiness, digital willingness, and digital activity. Building the smart village, we conclude, seems not so much a matter of technological infrastructure, but rather of sociotechnical infrastructuring.

Keywords: participation; digitalization; rural development; neo-endogenous approach; survey; social innovation; sociotechnical infrastructuring; LEADER; smart village

Acknowledgements

The research was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (funding no: 2820FD011).

References

Alpine Space. (2022, April 3). Policy recommendations. https://www.alpine-space.eu/project/smartvillages/Search in Google Scholar

Atkočiūnienė, V., & Vaznonienė, G. (2019). Smart village development principles and driving forces. European Countryside, 11(4), 497–516. https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2019-002810.2478/euco-2019-0028Search in Google Scholar

Bock, B. (2012). Social innovation and sustainability. Studies in Agricultural Economics, 114(2), 57–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.7896/j.120910.7896/j.1209Search in Google Scholar

Bock, B. (2016). Rural marginalisation and the role of social innovation. Sociologia Ruralis, 56(5), 552–573. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.1211910.1111/soru.12119Search in Google Scholar

Bosworth, G., Rizzo, F., Marquardt, D., Strijker, D., Haartsen, T., & Thusen, A. (2015). Identifying social innovations in European local rural development initiatives. Innovation, 26(4), 442–461. https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2016.117655510.1080/13511610.2016.1176555Search in Google Scholar

Bowker, G., & Star, S. L. (1999). Sorting things out. MIT Press.10.7551/mitpress/6352.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Callahan, K. (2007). Citizen participation. International Journal of Public Administration, 30(11), 1179–1196. https://doi.org/10.1080/0190069070122536610.1080/01900690701225366Search in Google Scholar

Callahan, K., & Yang, K. (2005). Training and professional development for civically engaged communities. The Innovation Journal, 10(1), 1–16.Search in Google Scholar

Cambra-Fierro, J. J., & Pérez, L. (2022). (Re)thinking smart in rural contexts. Growth & Change, 53(2), 868–889. https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.1261210.1111/grow.12612Search in Google Scholar

CARPE DIGEM. (2022). Territorial Digital Assessment Tool. https://carpedigem.eu/?lan=enSearch in Google Scholar

Certomà, C. (2021). Digital social innovation. Springer VS.10.1007/978-3-030-80451-0Search in Google Scholar

Cowie, P. J., Townsend, L., & Salemink, K. (2020). Smart rural futures. Journal of Rural Studies, 79, 169–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.08.042.10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.08.042Search in Google Scholar

Dargan, L., & Shucksmith, M. (2008). LEADER and innovation. Sociologia Ruralis, 48(3), 274–291. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9523.2008.00463.x10.1111/j.1467-9523.2008.00463.xSearch in Google Scholar

de Viron, C. K., & Mudri, G. (2019). Integrated approach to sustainable EU smart villages policies. In A. Visvizi, M. D. Lytras, & G. Mudri (Eds.), Smart villages in the EU and beyond (pp. 13–27). Emerald.10.1108/978-1-78769-845-120191003Search in Google Scholar

European Network for Rural Development. (2016). Cork 2.0 Declaration. https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/cork-declaration_en.pdfSearch in Google Scholar

European Network for Rural Development. (2018a). Smart villages. EU rural review 26. https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/enrd_publications/publi-enrd-rr-26-2018-en.pdfSearch in Google Scholar

European Network for Rural Development. (2018b). How to support smart villages strategies which effectively empower rural communities? https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/enrd_publications/smart-villages_orientations_sv-strategies.pdfSearch in Google Scholar

European Network for Rural Development. (2018c). LEADER LAG Survey 2017. Findings at European level. https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/leader-resources_lag_survey_results.pdfSearch in Google Scholar

European Network for Rural Development. (2022). LEADER/CLLD. https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/leader-clld_enSearch in Google Scholar

European Commission. (1999). European spatial development perspective. https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/official/reports/pdf/sum_en.pdfSearch in Google Scholar

European Commission. (2010). Europe 2020: A European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. https://ec.europa.eu/eu2020/pdf/COMPLET%20EN%20BARROSO%20%20%20007%20-%20Europe%202020%20-%20EN%20version.pdfSearch in Google Scholar

European Commission. (2017). EU action for smart villages. European Commission.Search in Google Scholar

European Commission. (2020). Pilot project: Smart Eco-social villages. Final report. https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/pilot-project-smart-eco-social-villages-final-report_enSearch in Google Scholar

European Commission (2021). Territorial agenda 2030. https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/brochure/territorial_agenda_2030_en.pdfSearch in Google Scholar

European Commission. (2022). Broadband coverage in Europe in 2021. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/broadband-coverage-europe-2021Search in Google Scholar

European Union. (2018). Rural areas and the primary sector in the EU. https://policycommons.net/artifacts/1940245/rural-areas-and-the-primary-sector-in-the-eu-contents/2692014/Search in Google Scholar

Fahmi, F. Z., & Arifianto, A. (2022). Digitalization and social innovation in rural areas. Rural Sociology, 87(2), 339–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.1241810.1111/ruso.12418Search in Google Scholar

Florida, R., Adler, P., & Mellander, C. (2017). The city as innovation machine. Regional Studies, 51(1), 86–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2016.125532410.1080/00343404.2016.1255324Search in Google Scholar

Foray, D. (2015). Smart Specialization. Opportunities and Challenges for Regional Innovation Policy. Routledge.Search in Google Scholar

Guzal-Dec, D. (2018). Intelligent development of the countryside. Economic and Regional Studies, 11(3), 32–49. https://doi.org/10.2478/ers-2018-002310.2478/ers-2018-0023Search in Google Scholar

Häikiö, J., & Koivumäki, T. (2016). Exploring digital service innovation process through value creation. Journal of Innovation Management, 4(2), 96–124. https://journals.fe.up.pt/index.php/IJMAI/article/view/17910.24840/2183-0606_004.002_0006Search in Google Scholar

Hite, J. (1997). The Thunen model and the new economic geography as a paradigm for rural development policy. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 19(2), 230–240.10.2307/1349738Search in Google Scholar

Ianiello, M., Iacuzzi, P., Fedele, P., & Brusati, L. (2019). Obstacles and solutions on the ladder of citizen participation. Public Administration Review, 21(1), 21–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2018.143849910.1080/14719037.2018.1438499Search in Google Scholar

International Telecommunication Union. (2020). Building smart villages: A blueprint. https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/opb/str/D-STR-SMART_VILLAGE.NIGER-2020-PDF-E.pdfSearch in Google Scholar

Karasti, H. (2014). Infrastructuring in participatory design. Proceedings of PDC’14, 1, 141–150. https://doi.org/10.1145/2661435.266145010.1145/2661435.2661450Search in Google Scholar

King, C., Felty, K., &d Susel, B. (1998). The question of participation. Public Administration Review, 58(4), 317–326. https://doi.org/10.2307/97756110.2307/977561Search in Google Scholar

Komorowski, Ł., & Stanny, M. (2020). Smart villages: Where can they happen? Land, 9(5), 151. https://doi.org/10.3390/land905015110.3390/land9050151Search in Google Scholar

Kühn, M. (2015). Peripheralization: Theoretical concepts explaining socio-spatial inequalities. European Planning Studies, 23(2), 367–378. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2013.86251810.1080/09654313.2013.862518Search in Google Scholar

Matern, A., Binder, J., & Noack, A. (2020). Smart regions: Insights from hybridization and peripheralization research. European Planning Studies, 28(10), 2060–2077. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2019.170391010.1080/09654313.2019.1703910Search in Google Scholar

McCann, P., & Ortega-Argilés, R. (2015). Smart specialization, segional growth and applications to European Union cohesion policy. Regional Studies, 49(8), 1291–1302. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2013.79976910.1080/00343404.2013.799769Search in Google Scholar

Moulaert, F. (2009). Social innovation: Institutionally embedded territorially (re)produced. In D. MacCallum, S. V. Haddock, & F. Moulaert (Eds.), Social innovation and territorial development (pp. 11–23). Routledge.Search in Google Scholar

Müller, S. D., & Skau, S. A. (2015). Success factors influencing implementation of e-government at different stages of maturity. International Journal of Electronic Governance, 7(2), 136–170. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEG.2015.06949510.1504/IJEG.2015.069495Search in Google Scholar

Mulgan, G., & Pulford, L. (2010). Study on social innovation. European Union/The Young Foundation. https://youngfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Study-on-Social-Innovation-for-the-Bureau-of-European-Policy-Advisors-March-2010.pdfSearch in Google Scholar

Nalbandian, J. (1999). Facilitating community, enabling democracy. Public Administration Review, 59(3), 187–197. https://doi.org/10.2307/310994810.2307/3109948Search in Google Scholar

Naldi, L., Nilsson, P., Westlund, H., & Wixe, S. (2015). What is smart rural development? Journal of Rural Studies, 40(2015), 90–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.06.00610.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.06.006Search in Google Scholar

Neumeier, S. (2017). Social innovation in rural development. The Geographical Journal, 183(1), 34–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.1218010.1111/geoj.12180Search in Google Scholar

Nieto, E., & Brosei, P. (2019). The Role of LEADER in smart villages. In A. Visvizi, M. D. Lytras, & G. Mudri (Eds.), Smart villages in the EU and beyond (pp. 63–81). Emerald.10.1108/978-1-78769-845-120191006Search in Google Scholar

Noack, A., & Federwisch, T. (2018). Social innovation in rural regions. Sociologia Ruralis, 59(1), 92–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.1221610.1111/soru.12216Search in Google Scholar

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2013). Rural-urban partnerships. An integrated approach to economic development. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264204812-en10.1787/9789264204812-enSearch in Google Scholar

Park, S., Freeman, J., & Middleton, C. (2019). Intersections between connectivity and digital inclusion in rural communities. Communication Research and Practice, 5(2), 139–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2019.160149310.1080/22041451.2019.1601493Search in Google Scholar

Patnaik, S., Siddhartha, S., & Mahmoud, M. S. (Eds.). (2020). Smart village technology. Concepts and developments. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37794-610.1007/978-3-030-37794-6Search in Google Scholar

Philip, L., & Williams, F. (2019). Healthy ageing in smart villages? European Countryside, 11(4), 616–633.10.2478/euco-2019-0034Search in Google Scholar

Pollermann, K., Raue, P., & Schnaut, G. (2013). Rural development experiences in Germany. Studies in Agricultural Economics, 115(2), 111–117.10.7896/j.1228Search in Google Scholar

Ravazzoli, E., Götsch, H., & Hoffmann, C. (2018). Smart territorial relationships. In A. Bisello, D. Vettorato, P. Laconte, & S. Costa (Eds.), Smart and sustainable planning for cities and regions (pp. 601–613). Emerald.10.1007/978-3-319-75774-2_41Search in Google Scholar

Ray, C. (2006). Neo-endogenous rural development in the EU. In P. Cloke, T. Marsden, & P. Mooney (Eds.), Handbook of rural studies (pp. 278–291). Sage.10.4135/9781848608016.n19Search in Google Scholar

Salemink, K., & Strijker, D. (2016). Rural broadband initiatives in the Netherlands as a training ground for neo-endogenous development. Local Economy, 31(7), 778–794. https://doi.org/10.1177/026909421667094010.1177/0269094216670940Search in Google Scholar

Salemink, K., Strijker, D., & Bosworth, G. (2017). Rural development in the Digital Age. Journal of Rural Studies, 54, 360–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.09.00110.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.09.001Search in Google Scholar

Sept, A. (2020). Thinking together digitalization and social innovation in rural areas. European Countryside, 12(2), 193–208. https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2020-0011.10.2478/euco-2020-0011Search in Google Scholar

Shucksmith, M. (2010). Disintegrated rural development? Neo-endogenous rural development, planning and place-shaping in diffused power contexts. Sociologia Ruralis, 50(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9523.2009.00497.x10.1111/j.1467-9523.2009.00497.xSearch in Google Scholar

Slee, B. (2019). Delivering on the concept of smart villages. European Countryside, 11(4), 634–650. https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2019-003510.2478/euco-2019-0035Search in Google Scholar

Star, S. L., & Bowker, G. (2002). How to infrastructure. In L. Lievrouw, & S. Livingstone (Eds.), The Sage handbook of new media (pp. 230–245). Sage.10.4135/9781446211304.n13Search in Google Scholar

Stojanova, S., Lentini, G., Niederer, P., Egger, T., Cvar, N., Kos, A., & Stojmenova Duh, E. (2021). Smart villages policies: Past, present and future. Sustainability, 13(4), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.3390/su1304166310.3390/su13041663Search in Google Scholar

Terluin, I. J. (2003). Differences in economic development in rural regions of advanced countries. Journal of Rural Studies, 19(3), 327–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-0167(02)00071-210.1016/S0743-0167(02)00071-2Search in Google Scholar

Tragos, E., Fragkiadakis, A., Angelakis, V., & Pöhls, H. C. (2017). Designing secure IoT architectures for smart city applications. In V. Angelakis, E. Tragos, H. Pöhls, A. Kapovits, & A. Bassi (Eds.), Designing, developing, and facilitating smart cities (pp. 63–87). Springer VS.10.1007/978-3-319-44924-1_5Search in Google Scholar

Urban-rural Partnerships (2020, November 26–27). URP2020 documentation: Sustainable & resilient urban-rural partnerships. https://www.zukunftsstadt-stadtlandplus.de/Termin-Detail/urp2020-documentation-urp2020-sustainable-resilient-urban-rural-partnerships.htmlSearch in Google Scholar

Vanolo, A. (2014). Smartmentality: The smart city as disciplinary strategy. Urban Studies, 51(5), 883–898. https://doi.org/10.1177/004209801349442710.1177/0042098013494427Search in Google Scholar

Visvizi, A., & Lytras, M. D. (2018). It’s not a fad: Smart cities and smart villages research in European and global contexts. Sustainability, 2018(10), 2727. https://doi.org/10.3390/su1008272710.3390/su10082727Search in Google Scholar

Visvizi, A., Lytras, M. D., & Mudri, G. (Eds.). (2019). Smart villages in the EU and beyond. Emerald.10.1108/9781787698451Search in Google Scholar

Wolski, O., & Wójcik, M. (2019). Smart villages revisited. In A. Visvizi, M. D. Lytras, & G. Mudri (Eds.), Smart villages in the EU and beyond (pp. 29–48). Emerald.10.1108/978-1-78769-845-120191004Search in Google Scholar

Zavratnik, V., Kos, A., & Stojmenova Duh, E. (2018). Smart villages: Comprehensive review of initiatives and practices. Sustainability, 10(7), 2559. https://doi.org/10.3390/su1007255910.3390/su10072559Search in Google Scholar
Published Online: 2023-07-11
Published in Print: 2025-03-31

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Titelseiten
  2. Articles
  3. Editorial 2025: A jubilee year for Communications
  4. “It’s not us, it’s the government”: Perceptions of a national minority of their representations in the mainstream media during a global pandemic – the case of Israeli Arabs and COVID-19
  5. Mapping environment-focused social media, audiovisual media and art, in Sweden: How a diversity of voices and issues is combined with ideological homogeneity
  6. A normative perspective on information avoidance behaviors: Separating various types of avoidance-related norms
  7. From “screen time” to screen times: Measuring the temporality of media use in the messy reality of family life
  8. Bringing the campaign closer to the voters: Facebook in partisan-managed campaigning in France
  9. Sociotechnical infrastructuring for digital participation in rural development: A survey of public administrators in Germany
  10. The discursive construction of a news event: Access and legitimation in the media framing of an escalated anti-asylum protest in Belgium
  11. The contextual interplay between advertising and online disinformation: How brands suffer from and amplify deceptive content
  12. Book reviews
  13. Klingelhöfer, J. (2023). The power of crisis communication: A qualitative study of the establishment of a scientific field. Springer, 235 pp.
  14. Balbi, G. (2023). The digital revolution: A short history of an ideology (B. McClellan-Broussard, Trans.). Oxford University Press, 159 pp.
  15. Reif, M., & Polzenhagen, F. (Eds.) (2023). Cultural linguistics and critical discourse studies. John Benjamins, 212 pp.
https://doi.org/10.1515/commun-2022-0107
Keywords for this article
participation; digitalization; rural development; neo-endogenous approach; survey; social innovation; sociotechnical infrastructuring; LEADER; smart village

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Titelseiten
  2. Articles
  3. Editorial 2025: A jubilee year for Communications
  4. “It’s not us, it’s the government”: Perceptions of a national minority of their representations in the mainstream media during a global pandemic – the case of Israeli Arabs and COVID-19
  5. Mapping environment-focused social media, audiovisual media and art, in Sweden: How a diversity of voices and issues is combined with ideological homogeneity
  6. A normative perspective on information avoidance behaviors: Separating various types of avoidance-related norms
  7. From “screen time” to screen times: Measuring the temporality of media use in the messy reality of family life
  8. Bringing the campaign closer to the voters: Facebook in partisan-managed campaigning in France
  9. Sociotechnical infrastructuring for digital participation in rural development: A survey of public administrators in Germany
  10. The discursive construction of a news event: Access and legitimation in the media framing of an escalated anti-asylum protest in Belgium
  11. The contextual interplay between advertising and online disinformation: How brands suffer from and amplify deceptive content
  12. Book reviews
  13. Klingelhöfer, J. (2023). The power of crisis communication: A qualitative study of the establishment of a scientific field. Springer, 235 pp.
  14. Balbi, G. (2023). The digital revolution: A short history of an ideology (B. McClellan-Broussard, Trans.). Oxford University Press, 159 pp.
  15. Reif, M., & Polzenhagen, F. (Eds.) (2023). Cultural linguistics and critical discourse studies. John Benjamins, 212 pp.
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 22.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/commun-2022-0107/html
Scroll to top button