NICRE’s latest research explores the opportunities and barriers facing rural innovation
Bringing together insights from rural businesses, stakeholders, and decision-makers, four new reports explore a key question: How can the UK’s innovation support landscape better meet the needs of rural businesses?
From understanding what successful rural innovation support looks like around the world to identifying what UK businesses need on the ground, the findings provide valuable recommendations for the future.
On the findings, NICRE’s director, Jeremy Phillipson, said:
"Representing a fifth of enterprises and a key share of the country's most innovative sectors, the innovation of rural businesses needs to be brought front of stage in the design and delivery of innovation policy and support. I hope the insights and recommendations of our research can lead to concrete steps and measures within innovation and business support provision in order to fully recognise and tap into this considerable rural dynamism and potential."
Rural businesses fed into the research, enabling deeper understanding of what firms feel enables them to innovate currently, and what would help them to grow in future. Smaller rural enterprises highlighted areas where wider-reaching support could be targeted to maximise innovation capacity, such as resources and dedicated innovation personnel.
As one firm explained, innovation “takes up a huge lot of headspace for everyone involved and we need that to deliver as well in terms of staff training, productivity, profitability and also gain the funds. So that's very time consuming, very absorbing for all staff members.
Until that new innovation product's delivered and suitably running, it's very hard to have time and headspace to then deliver something further.”
The research was funded by Economic and Social Research Council and Innovation & Research Caucus and developed with input from project sponsors at UK Research & Innovation (UKRI).