Virtual Office for the Demographic Challenge Launches New Territorial Cooperation Model in the Canary Islands
More than 240 processed requests confirm the success of the regional government’s platform, which strengthens municipal capacity and brings the goal of “equal islands” closer.
The Virtual Office of the Demographic Challenge (OVRD), promoted by the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Canary Islands Government through the public company Gesplan, is consolidating as a key tool to reinforce the administrative capacity of municipalities facing the greatest population challenges and to advance toward “equal islands”, where place of residence does not determine access to resources or the quality of public management.
The Canary Islands are experiencing a complex demographic moment. In a small, fragmented territory, opposite realities coexist: rural municipalities losing population and aging, expanding metropolitan and tourist areas, zones under high territorial pressure from residential tourism, and at the same time a growing influx of migrant population.
These dynamics create a scenario where demographic challenges are multiple and simultaneous, and each island—almost every municipality—faces its own balance.
One of the most relevant, yet silent, challenges is that of municipalities with few inhabitants and limited technical resources, which must guarantee their citizens the same access to public services as the rest of the archipelago. To address this, five months ago the Virtual Office of the Demographic Challenge (OVRD) was created, an initiative of the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water that is transforming technical cooperation among local administrations.
According to the latest monitoring report, the Virtual Office has received 245 technical assistance requests, more than 70 % of which have already been addressed. In addition, 121 technicians and municipal and island staff have registered on the platform, reflecting the growing involvement of town halls and island councils in this inter‑administrative cooperation model.
Requests come from all islands, with a higher concentration in Tenerife, followed by Gran Canaria. In total, 32 of the 47 municipalities classified as “demographic challenge” (under 10,000 inhabitants) have submitted petitions through the platform, confirming that the Virtual Office is effectively reaching territories with the lowest technical capacity or the most dispersed populations.
“These results confirm the usefulness of a tool that was created to offer real solutions to the municipalities that need the most support,” says Territorial Policy Minister Manuel Miranda.
“The demographic challenge is not limited to population numbers; it concerns equity, the possibility for every municipality—big or small—to have the same means to plan its future and provide quality services. That is the essence of equal islands, where cooperation and technology help balance the territory.”
Director General of Territorial Planning and Cohesion, Onán Cruz, adds:
“The Virtual Office has streamlined licensing, drafted fiscal ordinances, prepared tender documents and resolved property queries, but above all it has woven a technical network among local administrations that multiplies knowledge and efficiency.”
“It’s not just about processing files; it’s about supporting municipal teams, sharing tools and criteria that enable them to gain autonomy and improve their management capacity.”
The report shows the most demanded services are: assistance with licensing procedures (82 requests), drafting fiscal ordinances (33), and support for public procurement files (27), followed by help with grant applications and the preparation of tender documents and budgets. A growing share of inquiries are generic, related to the creation of models, guides and workflow diagrams, highlighting the need for common documentation and a repository of best practices that the Office itself is developing.
“This platform is the best demonstration that technology can serve territorial cohesion. Every request handled is an opportunity for a municipality to gain time, efficiency and confidence in its own management,” says Miranda. “It is a concrete example of how we are moving toward equal islands, where all territories have the same opportunities to develop.”
Cruz notes:
“The strong uptake of the tool would not have been possible without the constant collaboration of town halls and island councils, who understand that the Virtual Office does not replace their autonomy but strengthens it, enabling local teams to work with more resources, clarity and technical support.”
The Ministry’s team considers this tool a central piece of the autonomous strategy to tackle the demographic challenge from a transversal perspective, combining technical assistance with policies on planning, territorial ordering and municipal financing.
In this vein, the Canary Islands Government also maintains a stable program of municipal planning grants aimed at supporting the update of urban and territorial planning instruments, especially in municipalities with fewer resources. Since 2023, the Ministry has allocated €5.3 million to these subsidies, which fund the drafting or revision of general and partial plans, as well as the preparation of technical reports and complementary studies.
During the last year, 15 town halls benefited from these grants, 14 of them belonging to the demographic‑challenge group. The executive is currently processing a €500,000 budget increase to extend coverage to more territories. This line of work has allowed municipalities that had been unable to update their planning for years to regain the capacity to project sustainable urban and economic development.
“Planning and technical advice are two sides of the same territorial policy,” reminds Miranda. “Diagnosing depopulation is not enough; we must provide real instruments so municipalities can grow with balance, autonomy and legal guarantees.”
Both the Virtual Office and the planning‑grant program are framed within the territorial cohesion policy promoted by the Canary Islands Government, aimed at reducing structural inequalities and ensuring no municipality is left behind.
“Our goal,” emphasizes Miranda, “is that all municipalities, regardless of size or location, have the same response and planning capacity. That is the true aim of equal islands.”
The Demographic Challenge has become one of today’s main issues, generating profound social, economic and territorial transformations that affect people’s quality of life. In the Canary Islands, this problem manifests through interrelated factors: rural depopulation and population concentration in urban and coastal areas.
The First Presidents’ Conference marked the start of a participatory process to design a Canary Strategy that addresses this challenge comprehensively. For this, five Working Groups were created (Housing Access, Transparency in Protection and Territorial Development, Taxation and Employment in the Tourism Sector, Environmental Protection and Circular Economy, and Demographic Challenge), involving over the months all administrations (Canary Islands Government, island councils, and the FECAM), as well as various institutions, social groups, and the two universities.