Enhancing Innovation in rural regions

A new multi-stakeholder initiative on unlocking innovation potential and well-being in rural regions

What's the issue?

Innovation is the key to unlocking opportunities in rural regions. However, what drives innovators and early innovation adopters in a rural context is not well understood. Exploring and understanding this knowledge will:

Help rural areas improve their prospects for growth
Help policy makers support reforms to shift rural policies on placed-based innovation beyond a subsidy and sector specific approach

Critically, it reinforces the resilience of societies and economies in the face of global mega-trends such as demographic, technological and environmental change, and crises such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

What can the OECD offer?

The OECD is engaged in a new project on harnessing the innovation potential of rural areas. Rural regions across the OECD now depend on a wide range of economic engines for growth. Increasing networks through improved communications and reduced geographic distances are important drivers of economic change in rural areas.

Project status

More about rural innovation

A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK