The National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) will undertake research and knowledge exchange to inform policy, foster the innovation and resilience of rural businesses, and unlock the potential of rural economies across the UK. It has been funded by Research England (https://re.ukri.org/) and founding University Partners, with in-kind support from many public, business and third sector organisations.

NICRE will begin its work in September 2020 and will soon be recruiting its research, innovation, communications and operational staff.

NICRE has three primary objectives:

• To strengthen and improve access to the evidence base relating to rural innovation and enterprise and the productivity and resilience of rural businesses.

• To work actively with businesses, rural communities and economic development agencies at the local level to catalyse place-based demonstration projects for meeting long term challenges and opportunities, such as an ageing society, future mobility, and digital and low carbon innovation.

• To engage with local and national policy makers and enterprise advisory networks to build capacities and develop more effective policy and support services for rural enterprise and raise levels of rural innovation and productivity.

NICRE builds on three leading centres of expertise:

• Centre for Rural Economy and Newcastle University Business School (https://www.ncl.ac.uk/cre/; https://ncl.ac.uk/business/)
• Enterprise Research Centre at Warwick (https://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/) 
• Countryside and Community Research Institute (http://www.ccri.ac.uk/) at Gloucestershire and Royal Agricultural Universities

NICRE will involve a partnership between Universities, Government departments, local authorities and enterprise partnerships, businesses organisations, rural stakeholders and enterprises at national and local levels.

Baldwins Accountants (https://www.baldwinsaccountants.co.uk/) and Strutt & Parker Property consultants (https://www.struttandparker.com/) are its founding professional business service partners.

NICRE has three interconnected work streams:

• Strengthening the evidence base, through a core research programme (themes of Productive Rural, Smart Rural, Engaged Rural and Resilient Rural), robust analysis of existing data sources and regional SME surveys;

• Catalysing rural innovation and enterprise, involving local partners in co-designed, place-based demonstration projects to road-test solutions with scope for upscaling; and

• Informing enhanced policy and enterprise support for rural firms, through a Rural Business Solutions Forum, regular policy and evidence briefings, a cohort of Business Champions directly working with rural businesses, advisers and sectors, and training and professional development for those supporting and engaging rural enterprise.

The Centre aims to have a positive impact on business practices (improved research and innovation capabilities, new business models and stronger networks), people (capacity building of rural business owners, senior managers and advisors and a wide network of enterprise and rural development practitioners and researchers), policies (stronger evidence based policy design, delivery and support for rural enterprises), and places (rural communities equipped to tackle current and future challenges and successfully contribute to national or local economic growth and prosperity).

NICRE will have funding available, with more details once it is operational in September. This will include:

• Open calls for proposals for small research projects that will involve a wider network of research institutions and their partners, in addressing NICRE’s cross cutting themes.

• Pump priming resources for local innovation and enterprise projects tackling rural challenges.

• Travel and subsistence resources for short-term secondments between NICRE academic and non-academic partners and other stakeholders.

• Match funding for events and other knowledge exchange activities.

The decision to establish NICRE was taken before the pandemic in recognition that rural enterprise has often been overlooked within mainstream innovation and enterprise policies, support and research. Once underway its work will contribute to understanding the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 in rural areas and inform recovery. NICRE partners are already working to support the national response to the pandemic. This includes:

• A Centre for Rural Economy rapid assessment of the effect of Covid-19 on rural economies (https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/10/3973 );

• Enterprise Research Centre research and analysis on small business impacts and implications (https://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/);

• The Countryside and Community Research Institute shared learning resource on Covid-19 and sustainable food systems (http://www.ccri.ac.uk/covid-19-food-system/); and

• The Royal Agricultural University contribution to evidence / data gathering on responses to the pandemic, via the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission (https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/rsa-blogs/2020/04/counting-on-recovery)

NICRE is the third National Innovation Centre to be led by Newcastle University. It will work closely the National Innovation Centres for Data (NICD https://www.ncl.ac.uk/nicd/) and Ageing (NICA https://www.ncl.ac.uk/nica/) which were established in 2015. 

The Innovation Centres aim to build capacity for research and innovation both within and beyond academia, and to catalyse innovation projects between Universities, businesses, the public sector and local communities.

In the first stages ‘National’ means our funding and work directly applies to England.  Nevertheless, we expect that some of our research findings, innovative support and solutions for policy and support measures will have relevance for, and indeed potentially draw from, businesses and economies within other rural areas of the United Kingdom.

Prior to the launch of NICRE we have been communicating with both government and research institutions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and we anticipate joint knowledge exchange and research activities.

Over the coming years our aim is for this National Innovation Centre to be active, accessible and supportive of rural enterprises and areas across the United Kingdom and beyond.

NICRE’s staff are experienced in identifying and supporting innovative businesses, processes and places. Each of NICRE’s founding research partners will recruit Innovation Associate staff whose work will focus upon these activities and engage with their region’s firms, communities, business organisations and support bodies and agencies.

They will also be supported by innovation and enterprise pump priming funds to support bottom-up generation of projects and ideas within and between regions. Our work will complement and extend existing support for business innovation for example from Innovate UK, Local Enterprise Partnerships, and business representative organisations.

We recognise that it is critical for our enterprise research and solutions to be informed by real and ongoing experience of managing, growing and supporting businesses across many sectors, sizes and locations. NICRE is therefore committed to working in partnership with rural businesses and others with longstanding business experience, in its research, demonstration and policy activities.

Two nationwide, professional business service companies, are integral partners in the NICRE - Strutt & Parker, Rural and commercial property managers, and Baldwins, Accountants and business advisors, who together advise and support 000s of small to large businesses across rural (and urban) Britain.  They and their rural teams will make substantial and valuable contributions to NICRE’s work streams and outputs. 

Additionally, as we developed the proposal for the NICRE more than 30 organisations representing England’s rural and business communities offered their support and experience.  We will be creating a Rural Enterprise Forum to regularly tap into this diversity and depth of knowledge and ideas, and keep rural firms and places constantly informed of our work.