Integrated development – essential condition for modernisation of rural areas

The inspiration to take up the issue of integrated development in the context of the modernization of the village was, on the one hand, the conviction of the urgent need of stimulation, on the other hand, there was a concern that it should not be identified entirely with the integrated management system. Although the idea of integrated development is no longer a novelty, but it still remains a declaration and not translated into effective mechanisms for the functioning of local communities. The need to popularise it further does not require an extensive justification. The essence of the modernisation of rural background, characteristics of the integrated management of development, its place in the future EU policy 2014-2020 and in the new system of integrated planning in Poland, will be presented: rural location in the system of integrated management development, declared in selected strategic documents, the role of smart specialization of regions, the Opolskie voivodeship good practice to stimulate development, recommendations for further actions conducive to integrated development, including modernization of the countryside.