Gender issues should be integrated into rural policies at various levels and there is a need to intensify research on rural governance structures and processes from a gender equality perspective (Wiest, 2016). Rural women still face serious disadvantages, compared not only to rural men, but also to urban women. Despite policy efforts, results of recent studies and reports show that progress remains insufficient. The MORE partnership has thus decided to foresee one Project Result aimed at an exhaustive analysis of rural women’s multifunctionality as a new way to promote development and regeneration of the EU rural contexts.

The research will address the following aspects, among others:

• Definition of multifunctionality of women.
• Context, policy framework and historical evolution of this concept at EU and partnership country level.
• Best practices in academia and policy-making.
• Best practices in public and private sector.
• Co-creation processes and communities’ hubs as new innovative ways to enhance women – and citizens more in general – education and participation in EU rural areas.
• Final recommendations for public and private sectors.
• Guidelines for replication of MORE paradigm.