Postdoctoral Fellowship - Rural Business Knowledge Exchange and Innovation: The Contribution of Rural Enterprise Hubs

Innovation has become a central concept in promoting economic growth, defined as the introduction of a new product or improved process which can be disruptive and trail blazing or associated with slower and incremental changes. It is now recognised that innovation has certain geographic characteristics, with some regions appearing to excel in producing innovations, whilst others underperformed. Silicon Valley, the region surrounding San Francisco, is widely heralded as the one of the most innovative places in the world, home to 'Unicorn' companies such as Tesla, eBay and Apple. To date, rural areas have largely been excluded from innovation thinking, with scholars and policymakers alike instead focusing attention on urban areas as the ideal sites of innovation. My PhD presented evidence from the literature and my own empirical enquiry to suggest that rural areas still have a role to play in regional innovation 'system'.

For innovation to occur, infrastructure is required for businesses to grow and develop new services/products. Buildings such as science parks, incubators, catapults and clusters have all been created and researched in a multitude of urban contexts, but rarely in rural. In the case of rural areas of England, enterprise hubs were funded through Rural Growth Networks (RGN) to provide much needed workspaces in five pilot areas. These hubs provide physical facilities such as office/workshop spaces, meeting rooms, hot-desking facilities, reliable and fast broadband (critical for remote areas) and communal kitchens as well as more intangible services such as networking opportunities, training workshops/seminars and other means of acquiring knowledge.

The intention of this fellowship is to ensure the findings of the research reach a wider audience for greater societal good - particularly for the future of rural areas. A range of different audiences will be reached during the fellowship. Firstly, three papers will be published in high ranking journals, aimed at the academic sector. Secondly, two Policy and Practice Notes will help inform policy makers on the future of rural areas in innovation thinking. Thirdly, a 'best practice toolkit' will be written with hub managers in mind. These reports and results will be disseminated through a range of knowledge exchange activities such as interactive workshops and presentations, attending academic conferences and beginning an exciting new partnership with an industry-leading provider of rural enterprise hubs. Additionally, the fellowship will ensure my own professional development by helping to expand my professional networks, acquiring new skills in quantitative analysis, start new collaborations and writing new funding proposals.