Research and Evidence
We’re a focal point for research, evidence and knowledge exchange.
NICRE publications
State of the Art Reviews
Levelling Up and Rural Areas (March 2021) (PDF: 415KB)
Future innovation for rural public transport (August 2021) (471KB)
Briefing Papers
What is the contribution of rural enterprise to Levelling Up (March 2021) (2.4MB
Research Reports
Rural SMEs and the net zero agenda (April 2021) (PDF: 630KB)
Digital adoption in rural SMEs (June 2021) (PDF: 600KB)
Covid-19 and self-employment in the UK (ERC)
In this short paper, we provide a preliminary assessment of the likely impact of the Covid19 crisis on the self-employed, providing an analysis of which groups and where the self-employed are most at risk of significant income loss and therefore household distress.
Covid-19 resource directory (ERC)
No one has been unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the short-term economic consequences have been significant. As we transition from responding to the crisis to preparing for a ‘new normal’ there are many challenges, and opportunities, for small businesses and policy makers to navigate. ERC's Resource Directory brings together all our research on issues such as innovation, productivity, job creation and business support that will be vital for shaping future growth.
Learning from Lockdown survey (RAU, University of Gloucester)
Building on the findings from our public YouGov survey, this new research with over 380 professionals working in food, farming and the countryside finds a huge appetite for change and collaboration across the sector.
Covid-19 and sustainable food systems: a shared learning resource (CCRI)
Coronavirus (Covid-19) is having huge impacts on the food system here in the UK and globally. It is bringing into sharp focus how and where our food is produced, processed and consumed. It has also highlighted a number of issues with lessons for food policy.
Covid-19 and rural economies (Newcastle University)
The Covid-19 outbreak and UK government-led measures to contain it are having widespread effects on rural economies. The disease is affecting all aspects of rural society, both directly when people from rural communities fall ill, but also because of the social distancing restrictions that are in place to limit the progress of the disease.This briefing note looks at how the Covid-19 outbreak is affecting rural economies and presents a set of recommendations for Government.
Spatial disparities in SME Productivity in England (ERC and Newcastle University)
Improving productivity is critical to increasing economic growth and prosperity in the long-run and a key objective for UK national, regional and local policy. However, a fat lower tail of low-productivity Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and significant spatial variations in productivity characterise the UK economy., with some regions and rural areas lagging behind.
Related publication: Read more
Shining a spotlight on small rural businesses: How does their performance compare with urban?
This report showcases an urban-rural analysis of a large scale survey of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in England.
Read more (PDF: 268KB)
Rural Business Aspirations, Obstacles and Support: Policy Briefing
This paper uses an analysis of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey in 2015 to compare rural-urban business performance, barriers and use of business support services.
Read more (PDF: 206KB)
Rural Business Aspirations, Obstacles and Support: An analysis of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2015
Based on the 15,000 survey responses from the UK Longitudinal Small Business Survey, this report shows spatial variations in performance and uptake of external support services.
Read more (PDF: 3,109KB)
European consumers’ perception and valuation of EU food quality schemes (Newcastle University)
Food Quality Scheme labels are an essential means of communicating food product and process characteristics to consumers helping to supporting informed food choices. Such labels, however, can only serve their purpose if they are recognized, understood and trusted by consumers.
ROBUST (Rural-Urban Outlooks: Unlocking Synergies) (CCRI)
Creating strong, mutually supportive linkages between rural and urban areas is key to realising smart, circular and inclusive development for a sustainable Europe. Rural-Urban Europe explores how synergies between the two areas can be applied in practice to strengthen regional collaboration, interdependence and interconnectivity.
NICRE Briefing on the Levelling-Up Agenda
You can read the full paper on the NICRE briefing on the Levelling-Up Agenda, to download our pdf click on the following link:
The following three briefings have underpinned the case for NICRE:
- Progressing rural contributions to the UK Industrial Strategy (PDF) - September 2019
- Rural Economies and the UK Industrial Strategy (PDF) - July 2018
- What’s holding rural businesses back? (PDF) - November 2017
Briefings which have underpinned the case for NICRE
Progressing rural contributions to the UK Industrial Strategy (PDF: 4,150KB)
Rural economies and Industrial Strategy (PDF: 1,188KB)
What's holding rural businesses back? (PDF: 1,614KB)
We'd love to hear from you
If these publications have sparked your curiosity and you’d like to be involved in our research or have an idea for a project we could develop with you please get in touch via our Contact Us page.