Village Cluster – Mols in Development
About this good practice
Mols is a peninsula in Syddjurs Municipality with 24 smaller villages in an area of 260 km2 and a total of 3,899 inhabitants. All public services are located in Knebel, the largest village with 600 people.
A long-standing dispute between Knebel and the surrounding villages about welfare and public subsidies began to change in 2015 when the municipality intended to close the school or simply cut the grades from 10 to 5. Around the same time, the Cluster Village project started in Denmark, initiated by DGI and Realdania.
Mols participated in the open tender and became one of five pilots. The pilot project started in 2015 and ended in 2017, but the project is still running. The latest result is a new meeting place, Molsværket, which was designed in 2018 and built in 2021-2024. Financed by foundations, local money and Syddjurs Municipality.
The method consists of five steps to follow:
1. Establishment. Establish a project organization or steering committee
2. Mapping. Conduct a survey where you ask everyone over the age of 18 how they feel
about living in a village, what they find attractive and what they need.
3. Create a vision for the cluster village. Agree on a common name.
4. Action plan. Different working groups are created based on the topics identified in the survey.
5 Implementation. A formal organization is created to keep the project running.
A project manager, paid by the project, will lead the process and support the people involved.
Resources needed
A village cluster process takes 6-9 months to implement and a project manager is necessary to succeed. (40.000 E).
Conduction of a survey, analyse of the responds and report with external assistance (8.000 E)
Local human resources, meeting facilities, computers and digital media for communication.
Evidence of success
Mols has become a popular brand, attracting creative entrepreneurs and artists. New businesses are springing up and people want to move here to live. Interest in buying and renovating old houses and farms is on the rise.
The population has increased from 3,779 in 2015 to 3,899 in 2024.
The number of children aged 0-6 has increased from 158 in 2015 to 229 in 2024.
Because old people are living longer, the average age has not yet fallen.
As a new record, 27 new children started school in 2024.
Potential for learning or transfer
The village cluster method is well described and tested in 29 village clusters in Denmark.
The five steps can easily be implemented in different contexts, but the initiative must come from the hinterland and the villages must have an interest in changing.
The method provides a starting point for local development and creates a common ground.
The survey provides useful information about the local community and can support already growing ideas.
Villages in an area with a strong identity will find it easier to succeed, than in areas where the identity is more diffuse. The mapping is useful for identifying a common burning platform that unites all villages.
The project manager should be engaged and encouraging, but not too controlling. The ownership should be with the citizens and it should be fun, enjoyable and rewarding to be involved.
Be aware that good communication creates the foundation for collaboration and should have a high focus or even professional assistance.