Rural Economy Cluster

The Rural Economy Cluster (REC) aims to develop a community of Open University researchers in the Faculty of Business and Law and beyond to investigate rural livelihoods, regional/local development, policy, and related topics. We seek to address the perception that, until recently, the rural economy across Europe has been largely overlooked by academic research and public policy.

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The REC demonstrates the OU's expertise in rural economy-related research themes. Our long-term vision for research, knowledge exchange and impact work, is to support a more thriving rural economy and enable actionable outcomes for businesses, policy makers and community organisations that contribute to Levelling Up, and creating sustainable liveable rural places and communities.

A range of OU colleagues from different faculties and departments with related expertise are currently conducting novel research on agricultural economy and fisheries, non-land based economy (retail, leisure and tourism, creative industry, business services), business support and social enterprises.

About us

We aim to be the OU voice on rural policy and rural research to influence practice and policy on business support for growth and tacking inequalities in rural areas contributing to Levelling Up in the UK.

While the rural economy has tended to be largely overlooked by academic research and public policy until recently across Europe, a range of OU colleagues are currently conducting novel research on the rural economy from multiple disciplines. This research includes land-based firms (farming and agriculture, which constitutes only 15% of all business units in rural areas), and non-land based rural economy activities, such as rural creative industries, rural community enterprises, retail and tourism businesses, and innovation support for rural businesses.

Objectives

Our team

• Dr Inge Hill, cluster founder and director brought this cluster to life, making use of her previous rural research successes as former Co-investigator with the Research England funded National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise, where she remains an Associate Fellow. She is well networked in the rural research community internationally and a member of a variety of rural research related networks
• Liz Moody, cluster deputy director
• Dr Nicoleta Tipi, senior lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain
• Prof. em. Leslie Budd
• Dr Kristen Reid, PuLSE
• Dr Jie Deng (postdoctoral fellow), DSM
• Dr Despoina Filiou, DSM co-director of Strategic Management and Leadership research cluster
• Dr Giacomo Carli, DSM
• Jessica Heddenhausen (PhD student, PuLSE)
• Dr Anna John, DSM
• Dr Ronald MacIntyre
• Dr Sara Calvo-Martinez, PuLSE
• Dr Chris Corcoran, STEM, Engineering and Innovation
• Dr Sonja Rewhorn, Geography and Environmental Studies, School of Social Sciences and Global Studies, FASS
• Dr Vicky Johnson, Geography and Environmental Studies, School of Social Sciences and Global Studies, FASS

External partnerships