Five Years of NICRE: Building on Strong Foundations

When NICRE was launched in 2020, none of us could have imagined quite how much would be achieved in our first five years. We began during a global pandemic, at a moment when rural communities and businesses were facing challenges unlike anything seen in a generation. Yet in that same moment, there was an unmistakable appetite for fresh ideas, evidence, and practical solutions tailored to rural realities.

Today, looking back across NICRE’s journey so far, what stands out most is the energy, creativity and commitment shown by our team and partners across the country. NICRE was designed as a national centre, but it has become, above all, a community of people working with purpose. Any success we’ve had is down to that collective effort and a massive thank you to everyone involved. And it goes without saying we are also grateful to Research England and our University partners for funding the set-up and first phase of NICRE.

Strengthening the Rural Evidence Base

One of NICRE’s clearest contributions has been to bring together a much stronger, more coherent national evidence base on rural enterprise and innovation. Over 45 staff from our founding universities have contributed to NICRE’s research, alongside more than 50 researchers across 16 universities through our open calls.

Together, this work has generated more than 30 research reports, 11 major briefing papers, 10 State of the Art reviews, and a host of news items, videos, infographics and blogs. Our State of Rural Enterprise Survey has reached more than 4,000 businesses across three regions and provided the first definitive national picture of how rural firms have navigated the pandemic, the cost-of-doing-business crisis, climate pressures and labour shortages.

This evidence is now widely used by national and regional policymakers, businesses, and rural networks. NICRE has helped pull together evidence and expertise across institutional boundaries so it is more readily available, including contributing to major consultations across Whitehall, including on industrial strategy, digital inclusion, levelling up, net zero, protected food names, and rural mission delivery.

Innovation on the Ground

Equally important is the practical innovation NICRE has helped to catalyse in rural areas. Working closely with businesses, communities and local authorities, our partners have delivered 28 place-based testbeds and demonstrator projects, all grounded in local need and designed for wider replication.

These projects span everything from digital inclusion and renewable energy to food supply chains, rural logistics and community regeneration. Some examples include:

Digital inclusion in Northumberland, connecting community buildings to full-fibre and supporting a growing network of rural Digital Champions alongside Community Action Northumberland and Commsworld.
The creation of Northumberland Community Energy Ltd, now enabling village halls to adopt solar PV and battery systems at scale, with interest spreading to County Durham.
Rural Climathons across the South West, North East and Midlands, bringing communities together to design practical responses to the net zero transition.
Innovations in last-mile delivery, community-led housing, digital health, sustainable transport, short food supply chains and much more.

These projects have not only delivered real benefits locally but have also helped unlock significant wider regional investment in rural economic development.

Connecting Policy, Practice and People

NICRE was created to bridge the worlds of research, innovation and policy. Over the past five years, we’ve convened over 9,500 stakeholders across more than 100 national, regional and local events, feeding evidence and insight directly into the decisions that shape rural areas.

Our Innovation Portal acts as a unique national resource, a practical library of case studies, toolkits and learning for policymakers, businesses and communities. This kind of infrastructure did not exist before NICRE. It has been built through partnership, trust and a shared ambition to make change happen.

The People Behind NICRE

The relationships developed with rural businesses, community leaders, local authorities and national bodies have been at the heart of everything we’ve achieved.

While the numbers and outputs matter, the real story of NICRE is its people. I am proud of how our team, has worked together with energy, generosity and purpose, in particular in our founding partners at Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy and Business School, Enterprise Research Centre at Warwick and the Countryside and Community Research Institute at the University of Gloucestershire and Royal Agricultural University.

NICRE is an innovation centre in the truest sense. A space where ideas can be tested, where new collaborations can form, and where the needs of rural areas and businesses can be met with creativity and rigour. The vitality of this partnership is what has made NICRE impactful, and it’s what gives me confidence for the years ahead.

A New Strategic Backing for NICRE

I am delighted that Newcastle University has now agreed a new five-year strategic plan for NICRE, including investment to underpin the coordinating team. This commitment represents a major milestone. It gives us the stability to plan ahead, to grow our national network, and to focus on the work that matters most: supporting rural businesses, communities and policymakers to thrive.

This decision recognises both NICRE’s work so far and its potential. It also reflects the strength of our partnership and with colleagues across government, industry and the third sector.

Looking Ahead: NICRE Phase 2

With this support in place, we are now moving into NICRE’s next phase. Our priorities for the coming years include:

Growing our portfolio of impactful rural innovation projects
Strengthening our research and partner network
Expanding our Innovation Portal and practical resources
Providing deeper insight and evidence to shape national and regional policy

One important element of NICRE's work next year will be our partnership with the North East Combined Authority to support a new Coastal and Rural Taskforce, bringing together stakeholders across the region and nationally to generate policy solutions and take forward the North East's role as a key UK testbed for coastal and rural innovation.

This work with the Taskforce exemplifies what NICRE Phase 2 is all about - creativity, collaboration and building on the shoulders of a brilliant team and partners. We have demonstrated what’s possible when researchers, practitioners, communities and policy makers come together with a shared purpose. Now we want to grow that capability and unlock even greater opportunities for rural enterprise.

Thank You

As we mark this five-year milestone, I want to thank everyone who has contributed to NICRE’s journey so far. Whether through research, collaboration, institutional support, community engagement or policy work, you have helped build something meaningful, something that is already making a difference and has so much more to offer.

Here’s to the next chapter.

Professor Jeremy Phillipson
Director, National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise