Unlocking Rural Innovation
In the midst of a global slowdown in productivity, unlocking the innovative potential of rural places is more important than ever. As part of a series on supporting to help rural areas thrive, this thematic report provides the latest analysis and research on rural innovation, and proposes ways to overcome the growing gaps between rural and urban places that are contributing to the geographies of discontent. It first explores the multi-facetted innovative practices that are already occurring in rural places, and proposes alternative indicators beyond the traditional science and technology measures to capture them. Then, it identifies policy drivers and bottlenecks to help rural entrepreneurs, firms and people fully mobilise their growth potential. Results and recommendations are drawn from research and fact-finding missions from select OECD member countries.
Introduction
Designing policies for innovation through a rural lens can create better opportunities for rural regions. Yet there are challenges in ensuring measurement tools are not territorially blind and can capture innovation in rural places beyond the standard science and technology indicators. Re-evaluating how we measure and evaluate innovation helps in designing place-based policies to unlock rural innovation. This report calls for better measurement tools for rural innovation and reveals the importance of young start-up entrepreneurs to unlock rural innovation and its effects on driving outcomes in rural places.