GreisslerPLUS - Local Supply in Rural Areas

Easy access to convenience goods is a basic necessity for all people. Especially in rural areas, this is becoming increasingly difficult, in particular for the elderly and those with reduced mobility. For the elderly and those with reduced mobility, this development jeopardises sufficient provision.

In addition to provision of convenience goods, the social and community function of local providers is lost, and meeting points and opportunities for exchange and support are no longer accessible to these particularly vulnerable populations.

ICT Platform in the Pilot Region Schneebergland

The aim of the GreisslerPLUS project is to meet this challenge with an ICT platform for local provision in the pilot region of Schneebergland in Lower Austria. It is designed to link together local suppliers, local producers and consumers taking account of their local and regional needs and specific circumstances. The key feature of this project is cooperative development, integrating both the project consortium and consumers, local providers and other players.

Addressing Different Needs

The future users of the ICT platform are involved in the project right from the start and can directly influence its development. The aim is to reach a diverse group of users from different areas of use (consumers, local suppliers, producers, businesspeople, etc.) and to tailor the platform to their special needs. The requirements for the proposed exchange and supply platform are explored within cooperative workshops specially designed for the different target groups.

The results are then summarised into a set of criteria for further programming and development. The project includes a test phase, in which the ICT platform is further developed and eventually implemented. This test phase is carried out with comprehensive facilitation by the project team in order to support users in the application, and in some cases, help users to develop the skills needed to use the platform.

The project also involves examining the economic aspects of the project and evaluating possible operating and financing models. The final goal of the pilot research project is to transfer the entire structure to an operator who will launch and further develop the platform and implement it on the market.

Consortium Manager

RaumRegionMensch ZT GmbH

Further Project Partners

• LEADER-Region NÖ Süd
• OPESTRA e. U.
• University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien

Project Coordinator

DI Michael Fleischmann
E-mail: michael.fleischmann@raumregionmensch.at