A Robust Monitoring Platform for Rural Cultural and Natural Heritage

Rural areas in Europe represent outstanding examples of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CNH) that could be used as a valuable asset for social and economic development. This article describes the process for developing a monitoring platform based on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and implemented in six rural areas around Europe. The goal of this monitoring system is to provide evidence of the role of CNH in rural areas as a driver for sustainable growth. Several data collection procedures are described, including regular, non-regular, and co-monitoring. To combine the selected cross-thematic and multi-scale KPIs, weights have been assigned to indicators, according to the knowledge provided by domain experts and using group decision-making techniques. A detailed description of the dashboards developed for the monitoring platform, and all the information gathered is included. Several dashboards have been designed focusing on KPI values and their evolution.