Executive Summary

Project Scope Statement

The product of the project is a set of trails around 29 villages of Mastorochoria designed in
accordance with the values of the stakeholders and with respect for tangible and intangible
heritage of the rural mountain area of Konitsa. The product is an instrument for
miscellaneous improvements in the villages, for strengthening the interconnection between
them and for upgrading the image of Greece in the country and abroad. The web app which
is an essential component of the product provides a higher likelihood of having positive
outcomes. Moreover, the profitability of the trails operating is included into the product. To
deliver this product a series of sophisticated tasks need to be accomplished. First of all, the
internal and external environment has to be analyzed in order to define the stakeholders, to
appreciate their values, limit the negative aspects of potential conflicts and as a result to
develop practices and policies including the needs and visions of all stakeholders. The
challenging task of designing the trails includes discovering the capacities of the area,
exploring nature with the mountain guides in-situ for categorizing the trails. A crucial
element in this series of activities is developing of a framework for operating the trails.
Additionally, the trails have to be tested by the team and adjusted in case that it is needed.
Consequently, the final trails will be defined and approved. One of the core tasks is
developing the web apps for the trails. Before defining the content the benchmarking has to
be conducted. After communicating the content with the web developers and after receiving
the app, it has to be tested, adjusted if needed and approved. Finally, the procedure of
accepting product comprises a series of presentations. Submitting the final dossier in paper
and digital form and providing explanatory comments are the criteria for accepting the
MaNet Trails. After that the project is closed. Worth mentioning that although the project is
totally aligned with the strategic goals of the sponsor -the Municipality of Konitsa-, the task
of defining the responsible employees for operating the trails is excluded of the project
scope.


Main objectives of the project
According to the sectors for improvement of the Network of Mastorochoria, the project
objectives are divided into three groups.
The primary project objective related to the touristic development is to design the high-
level trails focused on the most significant cultural and natural sites of the area which are
interconnected by the narrative of the mountain cultural landscape of both universal and
unique Greek values. In addition, an informative support for the trails in form of apps has to
be developed according to advanced technologies. Achieving this objective will assure the
initial adequate promotional measure.
The principal objective of the project in terms of economic development focused on job
opportunities is to assign the trails to encouraging visitors to allocate more time for
discovering the area which will have positive effects on the tourism industry since new job
opportunities will be created. This will provide local societys welfare and secure economic
sustainability.
The main objective connected to the cultural sustainable development is to design the
trails that by the content and the way of their presenting contribute to visitors awareness of
the cultural heritage of the area. This will result in acknowledgment of the significance and
uniqueness of both tangible and intangible evidence which subsequently will lead to
appreciation of conservation and preservation measures.
The general objective of the project is to design a product -a set of trails- which will take
advantage from the mutual dependence of cultural and economic sustainability.


Economic sustainability
The achievement of a sustainable economic environment is the outcome of an equitable
and balanced relationship between various financially depended stakeholders. MaNet Trails
Project and Municipality of Konitsa by recognizing the valuable contribution of local
businesses and freelancers in the sustainable operation and implementation of the
designed trails; creates financial conditions and dependencies based not only on legal and
economic but also on moral and ethical issues. The Municipality of Konitsa has the dual role
of the sponsor of the project and the non-profit organization and controls, manages and
supervises the operation of MaNet Trails to secure their integrity and to ensure constant
assets for their maintenance. On the other hand, the only economic obligation of local
partners is to share a negligible part of their annual profits with the Municipality. The reason
for this is that MaNet Trails were designed for all the members of local community and only
for those who are directly involved. By the payment of small amount of special levy in the
public sector, the Municipality will gain assets to cover the need for community sustainability
and empowerment. Last but not least, the financial evaluation for the management of
tangible and intangible heritage of Mastorochoria has been done with respect to the natural,
historical, cultural and economic values of the area. This is another balance that should be
acquired between cultural and touristic-economic development of Mastorochoria villages.
The design of legal frameworks, the both financial control and commitment of the partners
(special levy, authorized licenses) enable Municipality of Konitsa to measure the level of
exploitation of the natural and cultural heritage. MaNet Project, having done analytical
research and accounting calculations, estimated that MaNet Trails Investment is beneficial
in all terms.