Ian Merrell has recently returned to the University after a spell of working at Exeter University. Here he draws on findings from his research into Rural Enterprise Hubs to highlight their value for the rural economy.

I’m a qualitative researcher in rural development and enterprise and I’ve recently joined NICRE as a post-doctoral researcher, after a stint away from the North East. 

I am somewhat of a product of Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy’s excellent tradition of educating the next generation of land managers, farmers and environmental scientists. I’ve completed a BSc in Countryside Management, MSc in Rural Development and a PhD supervised by NICRE’s own Prof Jeremy Phillipson, Prof Matthew Gorton and Dr Paul Cowie and I’m delighted to be working with the three of them again on this exciting venture.

My thesis investigated the North East’s rich stock of Rural Enterprise Hubs, which are physical infrastructures designed to support rural businesses by providing workspaces, meeting rooms, kitchen facilities, networking groups and learning seminars. We recognised the importance of these hubs for rural development, but at the time knew little of their successful internal dynamics, the benefits they provide to tenants, and their wider role in promoting entrepreneurial and innovative behaviour. Another aspect of the thesis was to investigate the appropriateness and relevance of the regional governance system for fostering innovation, particularly for rural areas.

When I heard that the proposal to establish NICRE was successful, I knew it was the environment I wanted to immerse myself in! Working alongside the private, public and third sector, as well as bottom-up initiatives from the community to solve some of society’s grand challenges – sign me up!

I intend to continue my exploration of Rural Enterprise Hubs as a valuable resource for the rural economy at NICRE. One of our main aims is to enable rural enterprise and innovation through knowledge exchange networks to overcome challenges and barriers associated with the rural environment – Rural Enterprise Hubs are an excellent mechanism to help aid this process. NICRE will be a key component in a Quadruple (N^th-ruple) Helix – a model of governing innovation that my PhD found to be highly appropriate for integrating rural areas into the larger strategic plans of regional development. I thoroughly look forward to working in this model alongside great partners to create real-world impact and contribute towards some of the most important challenges of our time.

I will be drawing on my other experience in my role at NICRE. During my PhD I worked as a research associate on two EU projects which, after presenting my research on Rural Enterprise Hubs, have since pursued the idea of creating hubs in their regions. I also worked with an excellent team of researchers at the Centre for Rural Policy Research at Exeter University before joining NICRE where I embarked on the ambitious (and somewhat unknown to me) task of coaching rural tourism businesses, inspired by the tradition of action research. I met a wide array of businesses, each facing their own challenges and with their own inspiring ideas to overcome them. Never underestimate the innovative potential of rural micro-businesses!

There are certainly exciting times ahead.

This was first published on the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) blog.