Representatives of policy and business support organisations from Austria, Norway, England, Scotland and Wales took part in an EPRC workshop on innovation in remote rural areas on June 19. The workshop was part of a study funded by the UK Innovation Research Centre (supported by BIS, ESRC, NESTA and TSB) and managed by Dr Sara Davies and Rona Michie of EPRC, and Dr Jillian MacBryde of the Department of Management Science.
The research aims to explore the kinds of innovation seen in remote rural areas, as well as different policy approaches and challenges. Participants made presentations on a number of themes, including home-working pilot projects in the business services sector in the Highlands and Islands; support for innovation in the agricultural sector in Wales; Norway's regional R&D and innovation (VRI) programme; and a study on new prospects for peripheral rural areas in Austria; and innovation policies in southern Scotland.