Innovation and entrepreneurship are central for economic growth, yet not all regions have equal access to these opportunities. Geographical disparities persist, particularly between urban and rural areas. This workshop focuses on the challenges and opportunities of fostering innovation in rural areas, by presenting work to identify policies for innovation in rural areas in a number of OECD countries, and to analyse start-up activities in rural regions across the European Union.
- Territorial | Rural | Local and regional | Cohesion | Industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (enterprise/ startup/ business) | Research and Innovation
- Code: 09WS241884
- Albert Borschette Conference Centre, AB-3C
Speakers
Moderator
Practical information
- When
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Wed 09/10/2024, 11:30 - 12:30 CET
- Where
- Albert Borschette Conference Centre, AB-3C
- Type of partnership
- Partnership
- Format
- Workshop/ panel debate
- Theme
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Competitiveness and convergence: two sides of the same coin
- Language
- English
Reporting
Session summary
The workshop focused on the role played by innovation and entrepreneurship in rural areas. Simone Sasso from JRC presented the geographical distribution of startups in Europe focusing on rural areas. He also underlined the relationship between Regional specialisation and startup. Ingjerd Skogseid from Vestland County Council in Norway presented an interesting case of a startup village in Vestland county, its strenghts and weaknesses, and the policy recommendations that the project has defined.
Michelle Marshalian from OECD presented policy analysis on rural innovation and entrepreneurship and underlined the importance of direct, indirect and ancillary support.
The presentations pointed out the importance of urban rural networks, brain circulation, and ancillary support (regulations, startups, regional innovation hubs).
Places where innovation and entrepreneurship happen are also crucial: coworking spaces, collaborative spaces, innovation hubs, etc. can play this role, as in the case of Vestland.
Quotes
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6% of EU startups altogether are located in rural areas, this figure goes up to 11% for robotics. Some NUTS3 regions show a particular active rural entrepreneurship (their share of rural startups exceeds their share of rural population)
Direct, indirect and ancillary support are needed to support rural innovation. Looking beyond direct innovation to indirect and ancillary support.
By combining different tools, POLICIES can REDUCE OBSTACLES and CREATE OPPORTUNITIES in the rural innovation ecosystem.
