Research and Evidence
We’re a focal point for research, evidence and knowledge exchange.
Changing the debate
We aim to shift the policy narrative about rural enterprise and unlock innovation potential.
Our aim is to strengthen the research and evidence base. There are many challenges and opportunities for rural businesses and communities.
Our research will analyse existing data sources to inform policymakers and supporters of rural economies. We will also invest in regional surveys of small and medium enterprises and micro-businesses.
Our research evidence priorities and work strands
We undertake and commission new research in order to fill evidence gaps in our current knowledge of rural enterprise and innovation.
Our research activities focus on NICRE’s core cross-cutting themes: productive rural, smart rural, engaged rural and resilient rural.
Click on each of the themes to find out about our research in these areas.
Productive rural
We aim to ensure that policy and business support services reflect rural enterprise and innovation. Rural businesses can then respond to the need for productivity improvements in the economy.
Supporting rural business development
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: Providing support for rural businesses to enable them to achieve their innovation, growth and productivity potential is a key theme of NICRE’s. This research is examining the differences in the take-up of business support by firms in rural, semi-rural and urban areas, using data from the Longitudinal Small Business Survey. It is a core area of research for NICRE and will provide underpinning analysis to inform wider interest in innovation support services for rural enterprise.
Lead contact: Kevin Mole, Enterprise Research Centre, kevin.mole@wbc.ac.uk
Exploring business growth in rural areas
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: The growth and productivity of rural businesses and the barriers to this is an important area of research for NICRE. This strand is examining how business growth varies in areas and in different sectors across the UK. Based on the Business Structure Database and Longitudinal Small Business Survey, this research will provide detailed data on firms’ growth by local area and lay the foundations of much of the future work of NICRE.
Lead contact: Serdal Ozusaglam, Enterprise Research Centre, serdal.ozusaglam@wbs.ac.uk
Understanding international trade among rural SMEs
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: NICRE analysis of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey has demonstrated that there is relatively more untapped export potential among rural firms in relation to goods or services suitable for selling abroad, which needs to be carefully nurtured. In the wake of the impact on trade due to Brexit and COVID-19, this research is exploring the exporting behaviours of rural firms and, working with the Department for International Trade, assessing how best to support businesses to sell abroad.
Lead contact: Sara Maioli, Newcastle University Business School, sara.maioli@newcastle.ac.uk
Considering the contribution of rural SMEs to Levelling Up
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: The UK Government has committed to a Levelling Up agenda to spread prosperity across Great Britain however, to date, regional development initiatives have overwhelmingly had an urban focus. This research is examining the comparative performance of rural businesses in the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine areas and examine the barriers that exist to innovation. The project will also suggest solutions and consider how rural areas can be effectively integrated into Levelling Up/regional development initiatives.
Lead contact: Jeremy Phillipson, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University, jeremy.phillipson@newcastle.ac.uk
Understanding external finance and rural enterprise
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: Rural enterprises may suffer from poorer access to external finance and fewer options for business loans and other financial services. They may also have a worse perception towards the financial market than urban firms. This project is considering the scale of this issue by examining how access to external finance varies across, and within, urban and rural locations, and exploring the impacts of this issue on firm performance.
Lead contact: Thao Nguyen, Newcastle University Business School, thao.nguyen@newcastle.ac.uk
Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on rural shoppers and retailers
Funder: NICRE’s Research and Innovation Fund
Synopsis: The project is examining how the pandemic has impacted on older people’s shopping habits and behaviours in rural areas, and the response of retailers.
Project dates: May-November 2021
Principal investigator: Dr Rob Angell, University of Southampton, r.angell@soton.ac.uk
Counterurbanisation and Entrepreneurial Emergence in Rural Areas (CEERA)
Funder: DEFRA
Project date: 2020-2021
Spatial disparities in SMEs productivity in England
Funder: BEIS and Enterprise Research Centre
Project date: 2019-2020
ESRC Productivity Insight Network - Spatial Variations in SME Productivity
Funder: ESRC (led by University of Sheffield)
Project date: 2018-2019
RuralGrowth - increasing Competitiveness of SMEs in Rural Visitor Economy Sector
Funder: European Commission Interreg
Project Dates: 2016 - 2020
Geographical indications of origin and productivity after Brexit
Funder: ESRC
Project date: 2020
Strength2Food: Strengthening European Food Chain Sustainability by Quality and Procurement Policy
Funder: European Commission, H2020
Project dates: 2016-2021
Rural SMEs and the net zero agenda
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: The climate emergency emphasises the need for businesses to move towards net zero carbon emissions and understanding how rural firms are able to adapt and achieve this is of significant interest to local and national policymakers. Using data collected from small firms in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, this research has explored and compared the environmental attitudes and practices of rural and urban-based businesses and identified key differences.
Rural SMEs and the net zero agenda finds that rural firms appear to focus more strongly on environmental issues than their urban counterparts, and that businesses in rural areas are influenced by different factors when it comes to reducing carbon emissions.
Lead contact: Maria Wishart, Enterprise Research Centre, maria.wishart@wbs.ac.uk
Digital adoption in rural SMEs
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: Prior research into the adoption of digital technologies in UK businesses has tended to focus on larger firms. As a consequence, digital adoption in small firms is less well understood, and given the changes to working practices driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a significant gap in understanding the ways in which these firms operate. This study is comparing the attitudes and practices of rural and urban-based SMEs with regard to digital technologies and asks whether the digital adoption of UK small firms varies depending on their geographical location.
Digital adoption in rural SMEs finds that rural firms approach digital technologies differently from urban firms, that businesses in rural areas have lower levels of digital adoption than those in urban areas and that rural firms experience different barriers to digital adoption than their urban counterparts. It also suggests that broadband capacity is a major obstacle to digital adoption for rural businesses.
Lead contact: Maria Wishart, Enterprise Research Centre, maria.wishart@wbs.ac.uk
Understanding rural innovation
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: Rural innovation is a key theme for NICRE and this project has explored the different types of innovations within rural micro-businesses, small firms which employ nine people or fewer. This research has focused on understanding the capabilities of rural micro-businesses to innovate and the barriers they face.
Using data on more than 5,000 micro-businesses – firms with up to nine employees – in England and Wales, It’s not where you are, it’s where you want to go suggests that levels of innovation reflect a combination of where firms are located and owner-managers’ aspirations for growth or stability and has four key findings.
Lead contact: Steven Roper, Enterprise Research Centre, stephen.roper@wbs.ac.uk
Exploring innovation in short food supply chains
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: Increasingly, short food supply chains have been central to rural development and food policy debate due to their potential to deliver economic, social and environmental benefits to SMEs. However, one of the challenges concerns the logistics of delivering products to consumers and, in particular, over the last leg of their journey, known as ‘last mile delivery’. This research strand is examining how food SMEs can improve their environmental and operational efficiency of last mile delivery, and overall practices and opportunities in the context of net zero. The work is also exploring how COVID-19 has impacted on the competitiveness and resilience of small businesses, in terms of innovation adoption, digital transformation and new governance mechanisms. This research builds directly on the evidence-base from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 projects STRENGTH2FOOD and ROBUST and is closely linked to NICRE innovation activities with associate partner Food and Drink North East (FADNE).
Lead contact: Barbara Tocco, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University, barbara.tocco@newcastle.ac.uk
Exploring innovation in rural and agricultural shows
Funder: NICRE’s Research and Innovation Fund
Synopsis: This project is exploring, in the wake of COVID-19, how rural and agricultural shows can become more resilient by using online spaces to complement traditional physical events, and the implications on marketing and networking opportunities for rural businesses.
Project dates: May-December 2021
Principal investigator: Sabine Gerlach, University of Lincoln, sgerlach@lincoln.ac.uk
Collaborators: Dr Barry Ardley, University of Lincoln, Prof Gary Bosworth and Dr Lavinia Wilson-Youlden, Northumbria University
Stakeholders: Jayne Southall, Lincolnshire Agricultural Society
Exploring rural enterprise hubs
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: Newcastle University has a long track-record of researching the role and impact of rural enterprise hubs - physical infrastructures designed to support rural businesses by providing workspaces, meeting rooms, kitchen facilities, networking groups and learning seminars. NICRE is extending this research to explore the role these hubs play in integrating rural areas into wider regional systems and consider alternative models for business support provision to these places.
Lead contact: Ian Merrell, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University, ian.merrell@newcastle.ac.uk
Understanding rural creative industries
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: Research into creative industries – businesses based on creativity, skill and talent – has tended to focus on urban areas and much less is known about the structure and support needs of those based in rural areas. This strand is investigating how the rural creative sectors contribute to business growth and innovation and how state-funded cultural investments may contribute to rural innovation and resilience. The research is being developed in collaboration with the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and Arts Council England.
Lead contacts: Frances Rowe, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University, frances.rowe@newcastle.ac.uk; Inge Hill, Royal Agricultural University inge.hill@rau.ac.uk
Exploring England's clusters of rural creative industries
Funder: NICRE’s Research and Innovation Fund
Synopsis: This project is examining the make-up of clusters of creative industries in rural areas and their contribution to, and relationship with, the rural economy.
Project dates: April-December 2021
Principal investigator: Dr Jorge Velez Ospina, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, j.velez-ospina@sussex.ac.uk
Collaborators: Dr Josh Siepel, University of Sussex, Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC), Dr Inge Hill, Royal Agricultural University, Dr Frances Rowe, Newcastle University
Stakeholders: Nesta PEC
Understanding the economic performance of rural food hubs
Funder: NICRE’s Research and Innovation Fund
Synopsis: This project is defining rural food hubs and exploring their contribution to rural enterprise.
Project dates: May-December 2021
Principal investigator: Prof Nigel Curry, University of Lincoln, ncurry@lincoln.ac.uk
Collaborator: Prof Andrew Fearne, University of East Anglia
Stakeholders: Lincolnshire Food Partnership, Big Barn, Farm Fresh Rhode Island, Herefordshire Food Strategy, South Devon Food Alliance and Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
Engaging enterprises in communities
Funder: NICRE’s Research and Innovation Fund
Synopsis: This project is exploring the attitudes of rural entrepreneurs towards community-led place-making and transport planning.
Project dates: May-October 2021
Principal investigator: Dan Phillips, Royal College of Art, dan.phillips@rca.ac.uk
Collaborators: Dr Paul Cowie, Newcastle University
Stakeholders: Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation, Community Action Northumberland, Haltwhistle Partnership, Prudhoe Community Partnership, Royal Town Planning Institute, Rural Design Centre, The Transport Planning Society and Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership.
INNOGROW: Regional Policies for Innovation-driven Competitiveness and Growth of Rural SMEs
Funder: European Commission Interreg
Project date: 2016 - 2020
ROBUST: Rural-Urban Outlooks: Unlocking Synergies
Funder: European Commission Horizon 2020
Project date: 2017-2021
Resilient rural
Rural areas account for 80% of the UK’s land area. Its natural assets underpin the resilience of economies and communities everywhere. We want to explore how rural businesses capitalise on these assets.
It is important they also pursue future growth while contributing to sustainable development.
Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on rural businesses
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: COVID-19 is having a major, adverse effect on businesses world-wide with UK rural economies hit hard. This strand will research and analyse the impacts of the pandemic and the resilience and recovery of rural businesses. It will also consider the reach and effectiveness of Government support measures within rural economies and the implications for workers and businesses of the potential long-term shift in working patterns.
Lead contact: Paul Cowie, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University, paul.cowie@newcastle.ac.uk
Understanding natural capital and rural enterprise
Funder: NICRE
Synopsis: There is significant interest and expertise within NICRE on the natural capital agenda. Natural capital is the part of nature which directly or indirectly underpins value to people, including ecosystems, species, freshwater, soils, minerals, the air and oceans, as well as natural processes and functions. Rural areas account for 80% of the UK’s land area and their natural capital provides public goods and ecosystem services which support the resilience of local, regional and national economies and communities. This research is focussing on the business aspects of the sustainable use and enhancement of natural capital, and the specific challenges and opportunities of rural climate-proofing and decarbonisation
Lead contact: Janet Dwyer, Countryside and Community Research Institute, jdwyer@glos.ac.uk
Exploring the contribution of social enterprises to rural economies
Funder: NICRE’s Research and Innovation Fund
Synopsis: This project is examining the contribution and potential of social enterprises to strengthen rural economies and tackle the challenges faced by rural communities.
Project dates: June 2021-February 2022
Principal investigator: Dr Ian Vickers, Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR), Middlesex University, i.vickers@mdx.ac.uk
Collaborators: Prof Fergus Lyon, Dr Robyn Owen and Synnøve Rabbevåg, CEEDR, Middlesex University
Stakeholder: Social Enterprise UK
Understanding food, farming and forestry businesses in rural areas
Funder: NICRE’s Research and Innovation Fund
Synopsis: This project is exploring, in the wake of COVID-19, how rural food, farming and forestry SMEs operate within localised supply chains and the challenges they face in terms of business development and innovation potential.
Project dates: May-December 2021
Principal investigator: Dr Matthew Reed, Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI), University of Gloucestershire, mreed@glos.ac.uk
Collaborators: Charlotte Chivers and Caitlin Hafferty, CCRI, University of Gloucestershire
Stakeholders: Landworkers Alliance (LWA)
Rural England: Local Perspectives on Community and Economy
Funder: DEFRA and Power to Change
Project date: 2020-2021
Exploring the Capacity for Social Enterprise in the Rural Communities of County Durham
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council
Project Dates: Ongoing
Funder: Centre for Rural Economy
Project date: 2020
Funder: Food, Farming and Countryside Commission
Project date:2020