12 February 2026
Project will seek to address challenge of skills shortage in rural areas
A pioneering new project led by a King’s College London academic aims to help rural governments address the growing challenges posed by ageing populations and skills shortages.
Professor Santiago Sanchez-Pages has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council for a project that will seek to develop an evidence-based framework to help municipalities better integrate skilled migrants into rural areas.
Prof Sanchez-Pages’ project builds on a long-standing collaboration with the Council of Petralia Sottana, a municipality in Sicily, and the Madonie Regional Authority. Drawing on several years of research and stakeholder engagement, the initiative will turn Petralia into a pilot for rural migration integration policy.
During 2026–27, Prof Sanchez-Pages will run activities that bring together municipal officials, community organisations, local businesses and migrant residents to co-develop policies tailored to local needs, with particular attention to entrepreneurship, housing access and social inclusion.
Prof Sanchez Pages said: “A key component of the project is capacity building. Through training sessions and technical support, the project will help local policymakers adopt systematic, evidence-based approaches to policy design and evaluation.
“Beyond local impact, the project aims to generate a transferable model for other rural regions facing similar demographic and economic challenges, and to demonstrate how collaboration between researchers and local governments can produce practical solutions to complex societal challenges.”
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Professor of Economics