The Role of Project Management in Ensuring the Sustainable Development of Rural Areas and Communities: Theoretical Aspects and Practical Experience
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction. The state of development in rural areas and local communities holds untapped growth potential, as this potential largely determines the achievement of sustainable and inclusive economic growth, the level of socio-ecological-economic development in the regions, and Ukraine’s food security as a whole. Therefore, project management — as a tool for ensuring the sustainable development of rural areas — is capable of facilitating the transition from declarative development strategies to the implementation of concrete project management decisions. Methods. The study employed general scientific and specialized methods of inquiry, including analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, dialectical, systemic, and structural-logical approaches, as well as methods of comparison and generalization. The information base for the study consisted of scientific works by domestic and foreign scholars, information from the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine, materials from the Manevychi settlement territorial community in the Kamin-Kashyrskyi District of the Volyn Region, and other open sources of information. Results. The article comprehensively assesses the role and importance of project management in ensuring the sustainable development of rural areas, increasing their investment attractiveness, maintaining the transparency of management decisions, strengthening the ability of local self-government bodies to respond to social, economic and political challenges, based on the example of the Manevychi Settlement Council of the Volyn region. A theoretical and practical matrix of areas of application for project management in rural areas has been developed, demonstrating that project management in rural communities is not merely “writing grant applications,” but rather a comprehensive development system that helps rural communities become financially sustainable, institutionally capable, and socially cohesive. Discussion. The results obtained expand the scientific and methodological approaches to the study of project management as a tool for ensuring the sustainable development of rural areas and can be used in further research and the practical activities of local communities to develop effective development strategies for the future. Prospects for further research lie in an in-depth study of project management tools in the context of implementing the Strategy for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas for the period up to 2030. Research will focus on modeling intermunicipal and international cooperation among communities as a factor in strengthening their financial capacity and ensuring the socio-ecological-economic sustainability of these territories. Keywords: project management, management decisions, rural areas, rural communities, strategic planning, investment climate.
Source: The economic discourse
Language: English
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: No poverty
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7204037537