Community building and business support for remote work in Brandenburg's regions During the first partner meeting, which took place on 20.08.2020 at Coconat in Klein Glien, Bad Belzig, representatives of the city of Bad Belzig, the municipality of Wiesenburg/Mark, Smart Village e.V., Coconat, Netzwerk Zukunftsorte and KoDorf came together to discuss the first steps in the project. The overall feedback on the planned project structure and objectives was very positive. The partners agreed with the project content and planned activities. They also wanted regular partner meetings every two months and regular updates. In terms of content, possible connections to local actors and companies in the Fläming region were discussed and initial contacts were collected and upcoming activities were discussed.

Problems in companies: The technical prerequisites for location-independent working are already largely in place today. However, the legal, social and cultural framework is lagging behind the technical development. While freelancers and digital nomads exemplify "New Work" and industrial companies spend a lot of time and money on making the leap into the Working World 4.0, small and medium-sized companies in particular still often lack practicable approaches for implementing organizational and technical solutions for location-independent working in a meaningful way. This situation is particularly problematic because SMEs in particular are currently feeling the effects of the shortage of skilled workers. Home office and remote work offerings could help in recruiting skilled workers, but the know-how is small and the skepticism correspondingly large. Problems for employees: However, it is not only the companies themselves that suffer from this, but also employees. Across Germany, around 40% of them would like to work at least partially in a home office. De facto, however, only around 11% were benefiting from this option* before the Corona crisis - and this despite the fact that, according to DIW estimates, around 40% of all occupations and almost 70% of all academic jobs could actually be performed digitally. At the same time, job seekers rarely consider the possibility of working completely remotely: the corresponding job ads are too hard to find and the fear of professional disadvantage and social isolation is too great. For many professionals, the still prevalent culture of presence therefore means following each new job to the next city or - if they don't want to change their place of residence - commuting every day. The burden on the environment and transport infrastructure is great, and there is less time for family, leisure or voluntary work. Problems in rural regions: In our knowledge-based society, in which most workers are

Digital remote work offers great development potential for rural regions. When anchored locally in communities, it can not only facilitate the recruitment of skilled workers in companies, but also slow down the brain drain and attract digitally working incomers and returnees. The aim of the project is therefore to create employment opportunities in rural Brandenburg regions on the one hand and to anchor remote work locally in the communities on the other. The model project is intended to support Brandenburg companies in hiring skilled workers remotely more often than before and to help job seekers perceive remote jobs as a local career opportunity in Brandenburg. This will reduce work-related commuting, increase the supply of skilled workers in the state in the medium term and actively counteract demographic change in peripheral regions. The model project is assigned to investment priority 1 of the guideline and addresses three of the four employment policy challenges for Brandenburg named in the guideline. The company-related measures have a direct positive impact on securing skilled workers in companies (Challenge II) in Brandenburg. The employee-related measures make a direct contribution to counteracting the decline and aging of the population, especially in the peripheral rural areas (Challenge I) in Brandenburg: potential newcomers and returnees are shown new career options in rural areas through remote work. For many, this is the only way to make an influx possible. Brandenburg residents do not have to leave when they have to change jobs again. In this way, the employee-related measures also have a positive effect on the supply of skilled workers in Brandenburg's regions in the medium term and also contribute to further securing skilled workers in regional companies. The labor market and employment

Initially, in a first work package, a first model remote work community is to be established in the "Smart Village" in Bad Belzig and Wiesenburg according to the Grow Remote concept. On this basis, phase 2 of the project is to begin in 2021: the scaling of the concept to other Brandenburg regions. Over the course of the two-year project period, a well-connected and extensive innovation ecosystem for remote work is thus to be created in rural Brandenburg. Brandenburg SMEs should have gained important fundamental knowledge and initial positive experience with remote work. The first vacancies are to be filled by remote workers. Remote workers in Brandenburg, in turn, should have learned about the new network and networked with other remote and digital workers as desired and needed. Both companies and workers are expected to have gained a better understanding of the conditions for success of remote work and practical knowledge for application in their own organizational and work practices through the educational offerings and OER materials of the model project. Brandenburg citizens and returnees should be aware of and use the offers of the new job exchange, so that new remote jobs are added in Brandenburg and more skilled workers move to the peripheral regions of Brandenburg again. The remote work safaris (Towntaster) are to make an analogous contribution to this. In addition, offers for rural living and working on a trial basis are to be prepared with interested Brandenburg communities, following the model of the Summer of Pioneers (but implemented outside the model project). The model project is aimed at three target groups: Companies, employees and rural municipalities or counties with their respective economic development and regional development agencies. They all stand to benefit from the model project