ARISE - Archaeological Routes for Inclusive Synergy & Entrepreneurship in Sierra y Mancha Conquense - has reached an important mid-term milestone with the launch of its public digital platform. Implemented in the Sierra y Mancha Conquense pilot region in the province of Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, the project is developed in the framework of PoliRuralPlus and contributes to the wider objective of strengthening rural-urban linkages through innovation, digitalisation and place-based territorial development.

During the first implementation period, the consortium focused on requirements onsolidation, service design, stakeholder engagement and delivery of the first operational prototype. The main result at mid-term is that ARISE has moved from concept into a functioning public demonstrator that is already accessible online through the ARISE platform.

The platform has been developed by Obsidian Innovation Institute - Associação (Portugal) together with Xilbi Sistemas de Informacion SL, supported by the broader PoliRuralPlus team, and especially by Social InnoLabs (Spain). This collaborative effort has helped ensure that the platform is not only technically operational, but also aligned with the wider territorial, methodological and stakeholder-oriented objectives of the PoliRuralPlus initiative.

The platform provides a live digital entry point through which users can explore the territory, discover cultural and tourism assets, identify local businesses, plan routes and interact with digital guidance tools. This marks a concrete step forward in the implementation of ARISE and in the practical contribution of the project to the broader ambitions of PoliRuralPlus.

ARISE addresses a clear territorial opportunity. The Sierra y Mancha Conquense area is home to important archaeological and cultural heritage assets, including Segóbriga, Valeria and Ercávica, as well as a wider network of rural services, municipalities, associations and local enterprises. However, these assets have not always been connected through a unified digital experience capable of supporting visitors, increasing local visibility and strengthening coordinated territorial promotion. ARISE has been designed to respond to that gap while aligning with the PoliRuralPlus vision of smarter, more connected and more resilient rural territories.

At mid-term, the launch of the platform demonstrates the project’s transition from planning and design into operational delivery. The current public prototype already makes it possible to access key user-facing functions in a single environment. Visitors can browse places of interest, review local offers, build route ideas and engage with a more integrated view of the territory. This is an important foundation for the next phase of the project, in which content enrichment, broader stakeholder participation, usability refinement and performance monitoring will continue.

The ARISE approach goes beyond a conventional tourism website. The project is intended as a digital support instrument for rural attractiveness, heritage valorisation and local entrepreneurship. By connecting archaeological routes, local business visibility and digital visitor support in one platform, ARISE aims to contribute to stronger rural-urban links and to a more coherent territorial experience for both residents and visitors. In this sense, ARISE acts as a practical territorial pilot within PoliRuralPlus, showing how digital tools can support local development through heritage, services and collaboration.

The public release of the platform is therefore a relevant milestone not only in technical terms, but also in dissemination and stakeholder engagement terms. It provides a concrete result that local actors can already see, use and discuss, while also creating a basis for further co-development and validation duringthe remainder of the project. It also offers a visible example of how PoliRuralPlus pilots are moving from strategy and planning towards tangible implementation in rural regions.

In the coming months, the ARISE consortium will continue working on platform mprovement, stakeholder onboarding, validation activities and the strengthening of local content and services. The objective is to build on the current release and move towards a more mature pilot service with increasing territorial value and stronger practical relevance for the Sierra y Mancha Conquense region, while also generating useful experience and lessons for the wider PoliRuralPlus community.

The ARISE platform is available online at the official public portal.

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Funding acknowledgement

PoliRuralPlus has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101136910. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.