This report is about the drivers of eco-innovation in rural areas of the South West of France, where agriculture and agrofood industry are still economically important but face economic and environmental challenges. Eco-innovation is defined as innovation that reduces negative environmental impact. Five collective innovative projects that involve farmers and other local private and public stakeholders have been studied, thanks to a qualitative methodology: the quantified narratives method. This methodology emphasizes the “narratives” in order to understand how actors acquire external resources all along the project (genesis, creation and stabilization). Drivers of innovation are defined, based on general hypotheses of the Taste project, focusing on relatedness of activities, place-specific factors, new knowledge dissemination, networks and governance. The analysis of interviews conducted shows how different drivers have a more or less important role according to the phase of the project. Their genesis relies on place-specific factors (for example specific problematics) and resources, but also related activities and the will of some local actors to cooperate in order to generate local development. For the starting and stabilisation of the projects, new knowledge dissemination is a key factor. According to the type of project this knowledge is either provided by professional education and training or experts and consultants. Professional networks play major role all along theses phases, but public institutions and locally elected representatives also seem indispensable for the acquisition of some resources necessary to the project’s progression. By contrast, collaboration with research institutes and universities is very rare. The last factor of success is governance. The five projects are based on a collective decision-making process with frequent meetings and information-sharing between stakeholders. Public policies for Smart rural development should then focus on the important factors to support considering the project phase and on enhancing collaboration between project’s leaders and research.