---
id: ch11-key-exploitable-results
type: spine
title: "Key exploitable results: what is meant to outlive the project"
readingTime: 3
standalone: true
core: false
teaser: "Six project-level results with business potential, five pilot-level ones, and the scoring rule that decides which survive into the final exploitation plan."
parent: null
diagram: diagram-ker-landscape
recallQ: "Which key exploitable results does D7.4 name, and how will the final selection be made?"
recallA: "At project level: the Advisor knowledge space, the Multi-Actor Approach Tool, JackDaw, rural circular-economy funding business models, Vulture and the AI advisory Dashboard. At pilot level there are five, such as smart-village hubs and cross-border innovation hubs. The final selection comes in D7.8, scored by a KER index that multiplies innovation, exploitability and impact ratings, with each result assigned to one of five exploitation spheres."
highlights:
  - "Six project-level KERs with business potential, from the Advisor to JackDaw and Vulture"
  - "Five spheres of exploitation; most KERs outside the business sphere stay free and open source"
  - "KER index = innovation × exploitability × impact, each rated Low, Medium or High"
  - "D7.4 is edition 1; the final KER list and owners come in D7.8"
status: accepted
concept: key-exploitable-results
conceptTitle: "Key exploitable results (KERs)"
parents: tool-ecosystem
lang: en
lens: generic
depth: standard
formalism: none
visuality: balanced
lengthBand: standard
genre: explainer
state: edited
carriers: prose|table|diagram
---

A **key exploitable result (KER)** is a project result that someone is expected to keep using after the grant ends, by its owner or by others through licensing or transfer. D7.4 (edition 1) sorts the KERs into **five spheres of exploitation**: Societal & Social, Research & Innovation, Capacity Building & Education & Training, Business & Innovation & Financial, and Policy Making.

## Project-level KERs with business potential

| KER (D7.4, Table 12) | What it is | Exploitation route D7.4 names |
|---|---|---|
| Enhanced Rural-Urban Knowledge Space ([PoliRuralPlus Advisor](#c/polirural-advisor)) | knowledge platform: policy insights, stakeholder mapping, data visualisation | subscription service |
| Multi-Actor Approach Tool (MAAT) | stakeholder engagement and participatory governance platform | SaaS for regional governments and agencies |
| Spatial Enhanced Attractiveness Mapping Toolbox ([JackDaw](#c/jackdaw)) | GIS-enabled tool for rural attractiveness and investment analysis | consultancy, analytics subscriptions, licensing to authorities |
| Rural Circular Economy Funding Business Models | business models for waste-to-resource, short food chains and similar | advisory and financing via incubators and financial institutions |
| AI-Based Foresight & transform work (Vulture) | co-design environment for AI-assisted planning and policy work | premium research service |
| AI-Powered Advisory Tools (Dashboard) | AI advisory and business intelligence for rural SMEs | B2B subscription |

At pilot level, D7.4 lists five results with local business potential: a Smart Villages Digital Hub, Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship Programs, Digital Participatory Governance Models, a Business Accelerator for Rural Tourism and Agribusiness, and Cross-Border Innovation Hubs.

The Results Database (Annex C, state of 2 May 2025) adds readiness levels: **Hub4Everybody** is a product at TRL 9, while the **Advisor** and the **MAA-tool** are at TRL 7.

## Free for most, paid only in one sphere

The routes in the table are *potential* routes. D7.4 states that, **except for the business sphere, most KERs will be free and open source**, and that the platform itself will be a free, open-source cloud service. An open Dashboard of services will let third parties add services. The recommendations name Apache 2 licensing, with dual licensing reserved for premium commercial versions.

## How the final list is chosen

The owner of a result, or a jury of stakeholders, rates it High (3), Medium (2) or Low (1) on **innovation, exploitability and impact**. The **KER index is the product of the three ratings**; weights may shift by sphere. The final choice of KERs, and who exploits each, is due in the final edition, **D7.8**, at the end of the project.

D7.4 adds its own caution: most of these tools target municipalities, so they succeed only once they are part of government workflows and have lasting funding. That is the subject of [what remains](#c/project-legacy).

**Sources:**
- D7.4 Exploitation plans and business models, edition 1 — Executive Summary; §4.3 Key Exploitable Results with Business Potential; §4.4 KER Index; §7 Conclusions and Recommendations; Annex C Results Database; Annex D KERs Revenue Models — [PDF](https://www.poliruralplus.eu/docs/342/D7.4_Exploitation_plans__business_models_edition_1_v1.pdf)