Co-operation of the research institutions in the framework of the European Rural Development Network (ERDN) constitutes the continuation of the idea of research led by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria, commenced by Dr. Gerhard Heilig.
One of the main features of the rural development issue is its complexity. Observation and analysis of the situation in rural areas and conditioning of future should be carried out by pilling together different scientific points of view.
The scientific network of European Rural Development Network (ERDN) was set up in 2002 to integrate efforts and competencies of various Polish and European research institutions in the jointly conducted work on the state and the paths of transformation of the rural areas, and in particular farming, especially in the perspective of extension of the EU and its future policies. Thus the main objectives of the Network are parallel to the Community`s idea of building the European Research Area for agriculture and rural development. The Network is meant to encompass the leading research centres carrying out the researches in the area of rural development both in Poland and in Europe, and in particular in the Central-Eastern Europe. The Institute for Agricultural and Food Economics is responsible for co-ordination of the activity of the Network.

www.erdn.eu