Restart: an integrated strategy for attracting residents

The Restart in Idanha strategy was created to address the problem of depopulation and the exodus of people to big cities, which commonly affects rural, low-density cross-border territories. Idanha has lost around 70% of its population over the last 50 years, from 35 000 residents to around 8 000 today. 

The strategy is the result of a participatory planning process that began in 2015, and has since led to the design and implementation of an action plan made up of four programmes and 26 projects:  

• Idanha Green Valley: Links knowledge and innovation in rural areas. 

• Idanha Live: Improves conditions for those who live or want to live in Idanha. 

• Idanha Try (Idanha Experimenta): Helps those interested in developing new opportunities to get to know Idanha.  

• Idanha Made In: Supports local products, especially organic foods. 

Milestones of the strategy include: 

• "Best Organic Bio-District" at the European Organic Production Awards 2023. 

• Honourable Mention (corresponding to 2nd place) in the "Territorial Brand of the Year" award at the City Nation Place Awards, sponsored by The New Times. 

The projects in the Restart in Idanha strategy each address different themes, and environmental, economic and social dimensions. 

Projects within the Green Valley programme contribute to the recognition of Idanha as a green “Silicon Valley”, for example, COLAB Food4sustainability.  

Projects within the Live and Try programmes focus on creating favourable living conditions, and letting potential new residents stay in local accomodation to try out country living and visit Idanha’s schools and other facilities. 

The Made In programme gathers all the projects that aim to put Idanha-a-Nova on the map, by raising citizen awareness, sharing knowledge, and creating networks for regional products. 

Restart in Idanha is a bottom-up strategy, drawn up by the Municipality of Idanha-a-Nova together with 52 local stakeholders. Various participatory actions, such as focus groups and meetings, enabled local partners to provide input. The strategy was also publicly presented to local partners in Idanha-a-Nova and Lisbon.   

The strategy was developed in collaboration with a wide range of local, regional and national institutions involved in education, research and economic development.  

At the local level, for example, the Idanha-a-Nova School of Management - Castelo Branco Polytechnic Institute contributed in terms of teaching and research.  

At the business level, the Idanha-a-Nova Municipal Development and Culture Centre plays a strategic role in promoting the Idanha-a-Nova Business Centre and liaises with the Idanha Rural Business and Creative Industries Incubators and the Ladoeiro Agri-Food Logistics Centre.  

Regionally, there is a clear alignment with the priorities of the Beira Baixa Integrated Territorial Development Strategy, as well as with the strategic objectives established by the Centro 2020 programme. 

The main impact of the Restart in Idanha strategy was to reverse the outmigration trend. In 2019, Idanha achieved a positive difference between the number of people entering and the number of people leaving (+50 people), a figure that doubled in 2021, and this trend has continued. This is an important step towards gaining population. 

As a result of the strategy, Idanha now has:  

• The highest average number of children per woman of childbearing age (synthetic fertility rate - 1.47 in 2021) in the Beira Baixa sub-region (1.34), which is also higher than the national rate (1.34). 

• The highest ratio of companies per 100 inhabitants (11.6 companies in 2020), when compared to the proportion in the Beira Baixa sub-region (11.1), and in all the municipalities that make it up. 

• The highest percentage of companies that remain in business after 12 months of existence (survival rate, 78.7% in 2020), the highest rate in the Beira Baixa sub-region.  

• The country’s largest total surface area under organic farming production (17 492 ha) (2019). 

• The highest number of guests in tourist accommodation per 100 inhabitants (188.9% in 2021), the highest figure in Beira Baixa and a higher ratio than nationally (139.6%). 

The total number of people benefiting from the strategy are the inhabitants of the urban centre (2 100) and the inhabitants of the municipality (8 232). 

The Restart in Idanha strategy is relevant for other European rural communities wanting to reverse depopulation.  

It contributes to common policy goals: 

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 10 (Reducing inequalities), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), SDG 12 (Sustainable consumption and production), and SDG 15 (Life on land).  

• EU Territorial Agenda 2030.  

• Long-Term Vision for the EU’s rural areas.  

• Urban Agenda for the EU. 

The strategy promotes a paradigm shift in perception, by demonstrating to European citizens that rural areas can provide the services necessary to be desirable places to live, work, study, and visit. 

Although a local initiative, not dependent on central government, the Restart in Idanha strategy contributes to the National Programme for Territorial Cohesion (2016), subsequently replaced by the Programme for the Enhancement of the Interior.  

The strategy could be transferred to other rural and border towns facing the same demographic challenges as Idanha. 

The methodology for developing the strategy and implementing its action plan and programmes can be easily replicated, and adapted to suit the local context. It is a participatory strategy, built in collaboration with local stakeholders, using a bottom-up approach.  

The transfer of the Restart in Idanha good practice depends on:  

• The participation of stakeholders in defining and monitoring the strategy. 

• The direct involvement of local political leaders. 

• A technical team to support all phases, from planning to implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. 

• Resilience and perseverance to find solutions to obstacles. 

• The willingness to innovate and change. 

Some of the measures taken as part of the Restart in Idanha strategy have already been replicated by other Portuguese cities.  In particular, the Municipality of Idanha has supported the creation of new eco-regions, for example, in the Municipality of São Pedro do Sul. Its methodology, particularly with regard to stakeholder participation, has been adopted by other cities, including the municipality of Mondim de Basto, in the north of Portugal.