Enhancing Rural Innovation in Scotland, United Kingdom / Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, author, issuing body.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agricultural innovations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (184 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Paris : OECD Publishing, 2023.

Summary:

Scotland (UK) is a strong innovator, ranking among the top 20% of economies among European regions, with strengths in university-firm collaborations and skills for innovation. With close to two-thirds of all growth in productivity from 2010 to 2018 coming from better use of resources in remote rural areas, rural areas are critical to economic prosperity.

Contents:

Intro

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations and acronyms

Executive summary

Labour productivity growth in rural Scotland has outpaced urban areas in recent decades…

…but there is evidence of unequal growth over time and within places…

There is great potential in the activation of the rural labour force

Opportunities and support for innovation in Scotland are abundant…

…however, more can be done to support rural entrepreneurs

Social innovation plays an increasingly critical role in delivering services to rural communities

Next steps for innovation in Scotland

Key recommendations

Delivering services for innovation and entrepreneurship in rural Scotland

Improving delivery of innovation programmes in rural Scotland

Co-ordination initiatives to improve innovation systems

Social innovation

1 Assessment and recommendations

Assessments

There is potential for greater labour force participation and skills matching in rural areas

The share of the population in remote rural areas of Scotland is slowly declining, while the share in accessible rural areas is growing…

…and individuals in non-metropolitan regions are older

Women are as engaged in the active labour force as men in rural areas but have lower employment rates

Labour productivity growth is strong in rural Scotland but there is some evidence of unequal growth

Labour productivity growth was primarily driven by a "catching-up" effect, yet also resulted in growing inequalities between firms within rural areas

Challenges in innovation still exist in rural areas within Scotland

Older firms have a higher share of the rural economy

Smaller businesses have a higher share of the rural economy

Small and older firms employ fewer individuals in rural areas.

Access to international markets can bring more opportunities for smaller and older rural firms

There are opportunities for innovation in rural Scotland

Scotland is a strong innovator when it comes to collaborations for scientific publications with SMEs and social innovation

Scotland is a leader in the adoption of innovations targeted at mitigating climate change through renewable energy resources

Yet, firms in non-metropolitan regions of Scotland are still stronger contributors to production-based GHG emissions than those in metropolitan regions of Scotland

Accessible rural areas are distinct from remote rural areas and, as such, have different opportunities and challenges when it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship

Social innovation is an increasingly critical part of delivering services to rural communities

Recommendations

Policy design for delivering services for innovation and entrepreneurship in rural Scotland

Going beyond science and technology-focused support for rural innovation

Improving access to skills for innovation through vertical and horizontal co-ordination

Promoting innovation and experimentation in the delivery of support services

Strengthening new firm formation, social entrepreneurs and the competitiveness of SMEs

Co-ordination initiatives can help improve the system of innovation

Supporting rural entrepreneurs through vertical and horizontal co-ordination

Overcoming low economies of scale for firms in rural areas

Notes

2 Understanding innovation in rural Scotland

Introduction to the landscape of innovation and geography in Scotland

Demographic challenges in non-metropolitan areas

Leading by example in innovation for climate change.

Approaching rural innovation in Scotland through case studies and rural data

Rural proofing innovation

Defining rural in Scotland

Rural innovation

The structure of the rural economy of Scotland

Firms and labour in rural areas of Scotland

Sectoral composition of non-metropolitan regions of Scotland

Size-based composition of firms in Scotland

Firm age demography across rural areas of Scotland

Foreign status of firms in rural areas

Promoting equal opportunities for innovation amid growth in rural Scotland

Growth in productivity across territories

The distribution of productivity between firms

Promoting diversity and inclusion for innovation in rural Scotland

Older populations

Women in rural areas

Foreign-born individuals in rural areas

Innovation in Scotland

Annex 2.A. Additional statistics and analysis

References

3 Policies and programmes for rural innovation

Introduction

Institutional setting and co-ordination mechanisms

Core implementing agencies for regional and rural innovation

Vertical and horizontal co-ordination

Subnational and local initiatives

City Region Deals

Regional growth deals

Scottish framework programmes for promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in rural areas

National Performance Framework (NPF)

The Scottish Government's Programme for Government (PFG)

The National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET)

The National Islands Plan

The National Population Strategy

The (new) innovation strategy

EU and UK policy and financing frameworks within Brexit

European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and UK investment programmes

EU Horizon 2020 and UK Research and Innovation

Policy intervention to foster innovation in rural areas

Population and access to skills in rural communities.

Increasing the supply of digital and entrepreneurial skills in rural regions

Fostering apprenticeship training and employer-led opportunities

Strengthening university hubs for skills upgrading

Networks and linkages for innovation

Territorial scale: Transforming rural innovation for better outcomes for people

Promoting digital infrastructure and connectivity

Developing innovation networks through clusters and smart specialisation

Sustaining university networks for innovation

Investing in innovation and internationalisation

Facilitating access to finance

Supporting internationalisation and export markets

Creating initiatives to support capacity building and encouraging experimentation in rural SMEs

Conclusions

4 Social innovation in rural Scotland

Socio-cultural context and behaviours

Scotland faces a number of distinctive challenges that make social innovation relevant especially in rural areas

Scotland has good socio-cultural preconditions for thriving social innovation

The legal framework around social innovation

Social Innovation is a known term but its interpretation might vary across Scotland

Social innovation can be fostered through a variety of legal entity forms in Scotland

Policy framework around social innovation

There is a wide range of policies that support social innovation in Scotland

Implementation of social innovation policies in Scotland tends to be decentralised and not a single institution has a specific mandate to deal with social innovation

Community Planning Partnership network could play a role as a feedback mechanism around policy implementation in Scotland

The lack of a centralised point of information around social innovation could hinder some opportunities and growth potential.

Social innovation actors are present across Scotland and especially in remote rural areas

Actors engage locally through a variety of platforms, from development trusts to community partnerships

Available resources

Public and private finance is available, yet it is difficult for early-stage social innovations to get initial funding support

Social innovation can benefit from improved physical infrastructure covering rural areas

Social innovators can benefit from a range of public support programmes to support business development

Academic presence helped to create knowledge, awareness and analyse the existing ecosystem around social innovation

Scotland has a track record in experimenting with community wealth building, local assets and land use, which is crucial in rural areas to enable social innovations

Annex 4.A. Summary

Strengths

Challenges

Policy issues

Notes.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

92-64-18267-5

92-64-83380-3