Opportunities and Barriers for Smart Rural Development in Poland in Light of Field Studies

Subject and purpose of work: The paper focuses on identifying and assessing selected conditions and limitations of smart rural development in Poland. The concepts of smart development pointed out in the literature were used to analyse the results of field studies carried out in 2011 and 2016 in ten purposefully selected villages located in various regions of the country.

Materials and methods: The conclusions were drawn on the basis of empirical material which took a form of quantitative data and qualitative information gathered from the interviews with village mayors (sołtys) and observations of the interviewers. For the purpose of the paper the statistical methods were used and the analysis of the content of responses was performed.

Results and conclusions: The results of the surveys indicated a presence of both the potential of smart development in the surveyed villages and the barriers to it. The important determinants to activate local economic progress based on knowledge, education and new technologies were connected mainly with a convenient location and the environmental and cultural resources available. As for an insufficient level of valorisation of the aforementioned elements, it proved to be an obstacle to this process, which was largely due to the limited accumulation of human and social capital.