Mostly located in rural and remote areas, historic castles, manors and estates (HCME) have the potential to stimulate rural and regional development and innovation. However, this requires a shift of paradigm in governance and support. By developing new policy instruments to unlock these assets, HCME could act as drivers for job creation, better education, improving life quality and reducing social inequalities. The partnership of Innocastle consists of four European regions, each addressing one policy instrument: The National Institute of Heritage in Romania, the Province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, University College Ghent in Belgium and the Provincial Government of Badajoz in Spain. National Trust from the UK will act as knowledge partner throughout the process and support all partners in remodeling their policies.