Ivan Del Caz de Diego

Ivan del Caz is redefining what it means to live, work, and thrive in rural Spain—transforming territories historically framed by decline into engines of innovation, collaboration, and collective action. Through his work, rural and urban communities are reconnected on equal terms, forging new models of shared prosperity.

In Spain, rural development has long been framed through a narrow lens—centered on agriculture and population retention, and shaped by top-down interventions that often reinforce decline rather than inspire innovation and enable shared prosperity. These approaches have fed into a dominant narrative—shared by both rural and urban populations—that opportunity lives in the city, and that staying in a village means settling for less.

Ivan del Caz offers a bold alternative. Through Rural Citizen, he is leading a nationwide movement to rewrite rural story—one centered not on survival, but on innovation, participation, and interconnection. His approach repositions rural areas as strategic territories for 21st-century challenges and opportunities, where people don’t just stay—they lead.

Rather than importing urban models, Ivan helps communities rediscover and build upon their own potential. At the heart of his work is the Rural Innovation Matrix—a practical, open-source methodology that guides the public-private co-creation of local ecosystems rooted in collaboration, creativity, and care. In each village or town, he brings together farmers, entrepreneurs, municipal leaders, and residents to form participatory innovation hubs. Beyond spaces for dialogue—they catalyze tangible outcomes: new businesses, cooperative energy projects, local food systems, mobility solutions, and cultural revitalization. The process reweaves the social fabric, restores a sense of pride in local identity, and replaces narratives of abandonment with a collective vision for the future.

Recognizing the power of this model, Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge commissioned Ivan to systematize his methodology as part of the National Strategy for the Demographic Challenge. The result was the creation of Territorial Innovation Centers (CITs)—locally rooted, government-backed platforms designed to foster public-private collaboration, activate local talent, and sustain long-term co-governance. These centers represent a structural shift in rural policy: from fragmented, externally driven projects to participatory, community-led innovation anchored in the territory.

Scalable and adaptable, the application of the Rural Innovation Matrix is now expanding across Spain. CITs currently operate in 21 provinces and are projected to reach 31 by the end of 2025. All are connected through a national learning network that fosters cross-territorial exchange, accelerates policy innovation, and supports a shared vision for rural transformation.

Spain is one of the most urbanized countries in Europe, with over 80% of its population living in cities—a figure expected to rise to 90% in the coming decades. Since the 1950s, rural areas have been steadily emptied by a development model that equates progress with urban concentration and sidelines the countryside. This historic bias has created not only demographic imbalance but deep structural inequalities that now threaten the country’s social cohesion, territorial equity, and ecological resilience.

The scale of depopulation is staggering. According to Spain’s official report Depopulation in Figures (La Moncloa, 2020), more than 75% of municipalities have lost population since 2001. Rural aging compounds the crisis: in municipalities under 5,000 people, 1 in 4 residents is over 65; in those under 1,000, that figure rises to 3 in 10, with 15% aged over 80. Some autonomous regions, including Galicia, Asturias, and Castilla y León, have seen negative natural population growth (more deaths than births) since the 1980s. This reality is not unique to Spain but a global issue. According to Eurostat, by 2021 only 21% of the European Union population lived in rural regions.

Yet despite these realities, rural decline has remained at the margins of mainstream discourse and policy. Public responses have been fragmented and reactive, often treating symptoms—such as depopulation, aging, or loss of services—rather than addressing their systemic roots. Rural territories have traditionally been seen through an agricultural or extractive lens, with limited support for economic diversification, innovation, or cultural vitality. As a result, many communities face constrained employment opportunities, inadequate services, poor connectivity, and restricted housing access—despite thousands of homes sitting empty.

This institutional neglect is echoed and reinforced by media and social narratives. A study by COTEC and Political Watch (2023) analyzed coverage in Spain’s main public television news and found that rural Spain received only 0.8% of total broadcast time between 2016 and 2023, averaging just four hours per year. Most coverage focused on forest fires or rural tourism, with limited attention to the diverse opportunities the countryside offers and systemic issues like the closure of local banks, the scarcity of doctors, or decaying infrastructure.

The cumulative effect of this coverage perpetuates a stigmatized view of rural life—as isolated, lacking, and inferior to urban living. This portrayal discourages investment, weakens local agency, and makes it harder for rural communities to be seen as viable, future-oriented places. The dominant narrative equates staying in the countryside with settling for less, reinforcing the idea that success and opportunity reside exclusively in the city.

This stigmatization fuels a vicious cycle: young people continue to leave in search of opportunity, the labor force shrinks, and the remaining population ages further. The concentration of power, resources, and influence in cities marginalizes rural populations and weakens national resilience—especially in the face of climate change, economic disruption, and growing social fragmentation.

At a time when global challenges demand decentralization, cooperation, and care-based systems, Spain’s rural crisis reveals a deeper truth: the future of sustainability and equity depends on rebalancing how we value and inhabit territory. Rural revitalization is no longer just about slowing decline—it is about redistributing people, power, and purpose across the land.

To shift the mindset around rural territories—for both urban and rural populations—Ivan del Caz has developed a three-pillar strategy that combines structural transformation, grassroots leadership, and cultural reimagining.

1. Building Territorial Infrastructure

Ivan’s model begins by transforming physical and institutional infrastructure into engines of community-led innovation. At its core is the Rural Innovation Matrix, a methodology that evolved from his model of citizen participation schools for the Basque Country, with the first of these schools launched in 2016 in Vitoria, a province that accounts with more than 60 rural towns in the borders of the capital city. This model brings together local governments, residents, and cross-sector actors to co-create territorial solutions. This approach was later formalized into the Implementation Guide for Territorial Innovation Centers (CITs), co-developed with Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and now embedded in the country’s National Strategy for the Demographic Challenge.

Each CIT follows a structured process: territorial diagnosis, stakeholder mapping, and the activation of a local governance body (La Mesa de los 10) to oversee planning and accountability. The centers address key challenges—youth employment, housing, mobility, and care services—through participatory workshops and prototype projects. Funded initially with €500,000–€1,000,000 from public budgets, CITs also mobilizes EU funds, philanthropic investment, and community capital to scale impact.

Real-world transformation is already unfolding across Spain:
- In Pradoluengo (Burgos), a town once renowned for textile manufacturing, Ivan helped pilot the creation of a Center for Research in Sustainable Textile Fibers, in collaboration with local leaders and Ecoalf, a leading sustainable fashion brand in Spain. While the initiative is currently on hold, there are plans to revitalize it, building on the lessons learned from the pilot. This experience showed how local heritage can be aligned with the future of sustainable fashion and the circular economy—positioning Pradoluengo as a potential rural innovation hub rather than a symbol of abandonment.

- In the Kuartango Valley (Basque Country), Ivan supported the transformation of a 19th-century spa into Kuartango Lab, a vibrant innovation space housing co-working, incubation programs, cultural events, and soon, co-living units. Since its launch in 2021, the Lab has helped reverse years of population loss—growing from 370 to 432 residents—and has hosted over 150 activities, including international gatherings and European programs like The Break, which promotes female talent and entrepreneurship. Today, it is recognized as a European case study in rural regeneration.

These examples illustrate how infrastructure—when paired with participation and vision—can become fertile ground for economic diversification, social cohesion, and demographic resilience.

2. Activating Local Leadership

Infrastructure alone doesn’t drive change—people do. Ivan places rural residents at the heart of his strategy by identifying, supporting, and connecting local leaders who act as catalysts in their communities.

Through the Rural Citizen Platform, an open, decentralized platform Ivan connects over 4,600 rural residents across the country. These are farmers, educators, entrepreneurs, municipal leaders, and activists who are actively engaged in peer learning, co-creation, and collaborative action. The platform serves as both a meeting ground and an amplifier, allowing individuals and communities to build alliances, share solutions, and scale collective impact.

Within this broader ecosystem, Ivan has developed the Rural Talent Map—a curated network of 96 high-impact rural leaders spanning 35 provinces, who act as local nodes of innovation and governance. These leaders are selected through a rigorous, multi-step mapping process based on clear criteria, including their alignment with collaborative values, ability to mobilize diverse actors, proven track record, and deep territorial anchoring. They represent the diversity and dynamism of Spain’s rural landscape—artisans, educators, social entrepreneurs, cultural organizers—united by a commitment to collaborative territorial transformation.

Importantly, these are the leaders who support provincial governments in the launch of the CITs in their territories. Ivan relies on them not only to implement the model, but to adapt and evolve it to local realities—ensuring the centers are not imposed but grown from within.

Their collective work is driving systemic change. A prime example is the Collaborative Generational Renewal Ecosystem, launched in Cuenca and Teruel. Co-designed with youth and public institutions, and supported with a government grant, the program addresses succession gaps in rural businesses by matching retiring owners with young entrepreneurs. Through participatory methods, youth identify territorial needs and design projects in sustainable agriculture, tourism, vocational training, and the care economy—modeling how rural innovation can scale across provinces and sectors.

Their collective work is driving systemic change. A prime example is the Collaborative Generational Renewal Ecosystem, that will be launched by the end of 2025 in Cuenca and Teruel. Co-designed with youth and public institutions, and supported with a government grant, the program addresses succession gaps in rural businesses by matching retiring owners with young entrepreneurs. Through participatory methods, youth identify territorial needs and design projects in sustainable agriculture, tourism, vocational training, and the care economy—modeling how rural innovation can scale across provinces and sectors.

Another illustration of this network’s power is TRIRURAL, a flagship initiative co-created by rural leaders from Salamanca, Guadalajara, and Tenerife. TRIRURAL connects emerging changemakers across these provinces to design scalable, cross-regional responses to shared challenges such as youth engagement, circular economy, and ecological transition. Its participatory methodology mirrors the Rural Innovation Matrix, reinforcing Rural Citizen as a distributed, living ecosystem capable of driving systemic change from the ground up.

To institutionalize this talent pipeline, Ivan will launch at the beginning of 2026 a Micro-Credential in CIT Management, training facilitators to lead territorial innovation with both technical skills and community-rooted values. Over 100 participants have already earned credentials, ensuring the long-term sustainability and integrity of the model. In September 2025, Ivan will launch another university extension program focused on Leadership in Rural Innovation, further expanding opportunities for professional development and deepening the impact of the model in rural areas.

3. Reshaping Public Narratives

The third pillar of Ivan’s strategy is cultural: changing how rural territories are seen—by others and by themselves. To do this, he deploys a clear set of narrative tools: creating symbolic infrastructure, amplifying grassroots voices, and staging high-visibility events that celebrate rural creativity, care, and leadership. In this way, this shift is not rhetorical; it is rooted in lived experiences, participatory design, and public storytelling that reclaims the dignity and strategic importance of rural Spain.

A leading example is the Society of Care Strategy in Merindad de Río Ubierna (Burgos). There, Ivan and local actors are planning to transform a disused train station into a Center for Care—a community anchor designed to house intergenerational programs, well-being services, and cultural activities. But beyond infrastructure, the project reframes the territory itself as a “care society”—where regeneration is understood not just ecologically or economically, but socially and emotionally. Through participatory events like the Jornadas BIOCUIDADOS, residents co-create this vision, articulating a model of rural development rooted in dignity and dignity.

At the national level, Ivan is also the force behind La Gran Kedada Rural, Spain’s largest rural innovation gathering. Now in its fifth edition, it has convened over 7,000 participants, transforming the visibility of rural actors across sectors—from artists to engineers, from youth groups to municipal leaders. These gatherings are not just events—they’re a living narrative shift, a public demonstration that rural Spain is alive, creative, and leading.

To amplify this work, Ivan is building a positive Rural Lobby: a coalition of actors committed to advocating for rural interests in national policy, anchoring long-term sustainability and influence. With the narrative, leadership, and infrastructure aligned, Rural Citizen is no longer just a grassroots initiative—it is a nationally backed, globally adaptable movement for rural-led transformation.

Ivan’s journey into social innovation is grounded in a lifelong sensitivity to inequality, a deep connection to rural life, and an instinct for designing collective solutions. From an early age, he showed a remarkable ability to transform personal passions into platforms for empowerment. At 14, he co-created a school magazine where his classmates found a voice At 18, he founded a basketball club—creating the training structure, securing funds, and building it as a space for inclusion and opportunity. The club initially played in the regional league and participated in a reintegration program for prisoners. Later, with another organization he coached immigrant girls at risk of exclusion or mistreatment, focusing on creating a supportive environment for them

This ethos carried into his early service. He worked with the Padre Ángel Foundation to support children from vulnerable families and later joined a community supporting people affected by leprosy in India. These experiences broadened his ethical compass and sharpened his sense of global responsibility.

His academic journey matched his social drive. Ivan holds a Higher Diploma in Marketing, a master's in business and marketing management, and a degree in Business Administration from the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. Early in his career, he applied this expertise across sectors—from branding and consulting to public strategy—developing a systems-level understanding of how institutions, economies, and communities operate.

Raised by entrepreneurial parents, Ivan grew up with a strong ethic of initiative and a belief in collective agency. In 2003, he made a decisive move to live and work in a small rural village: Ollávarre, in Álava. At the time, the town had 90 residents. Today, the local population has tripled thanks in part to his efforts. He co-founded the village’s energy community (now powering 60% of local homes), serves on the Local Council and has helped redesign public services through a citizen-first approach.

A profound turning point came in 2011 with the loss of his mother, which sparked a deep process of introspection. From that moment, he chose to fully align his professional path with meaningful social purpose. Over the last two decades, from this rural base, Ivan has advised hundreds of entrepreneurs, cooperatives, local governments, and multinationals across sectors such as ethical finance, biotextiles, food systems, technology, and tourism. Through programs like The Break, he has mentored a new generation of rural and women entrepreneurs, advancing a model of innovation rooted in care.

Ivan’s leadership has grown from practitioner to national thought leader. He authored Territorios de Oportunidades, a book that lays out his framework for collaborative territorial regeneration and was commissioned to write Spain’s official implementation guide for the Territorial Innovation Centers. In 2020, he launched RuralCitizen.org, a digital platform that has grown into a movement of over 4,200 changemakers across the country.

For Ivan, rural territories are not relics of the past—they are vital, living systems ready to lead. His work doesn’t romanticize rural life; it reimagines it. With humility, strategic rigor, and a deeply relational approach, he is creating the conditions for rural communities to design and lead their own transformation—from within, and on their own terms.