The use of the Smart Village concept in shaping local development. Evaluation and recommendations based on the experiences from the Elbląg Canal Region

In this paper, the authors aim to present their evaluation of the potential of a Smart Village concept as a tool for the integration of local communities and participatory local development planning, based on 15 projects of strategies of villages, localities and municipalities in the Elbląg Canal Land. One of the significant distinguishing features of the developed concepts was the focus on goals, combining both the needs and the well-being of rural communities. Another shared characteristic of the analysed concepts is that they envisage the creation and development of tourist products related to the Elbląg Canal, a unique historic landmark of hydrotechnical engineering. Important objectives of the concepts developed with the participation of residents of each locality were to build partnerships and to identify avenues for cooperation, whilst creating local products and tourist services or solving local problems. The article compares the program's priorities with the solutions presented in the strategies. It also provides recommendations related to the strategy development process and the potential for their implementation within the Smart Village program. Among the key points is the need to thoroughly familiarise local communities with the program's objectives and possibilities, as well as to offer both substantive and organisational support to these communities during the strategy development process, for example, by collaborating with the academic sector.