The document discusses innovation and territorial development opportunities for rural areas. By 2050, 30% of the global population will still live in rural areas, representing billions of people with culture, resources, and potential for innovation. Smart specialization and specialization have emerged as driving forces for rural area development, posing new challenges for policymakers in EU peripheral regions. The document advocates designing smart specialization strategies as a big opportunity for EU rural communities to promote local idea and knowledge generation, exploitation, and sharing within and across regions through balanced knowledge spillovers. Governments have a dual role in fostering industrial growth and transformation.