Local Communities

Community engagement is driving new forms of collaboration, policy development, and local innovation in rural areas. This resource draws on insights from ‘Community Visioning’ events held in Hexham and Wooler, where

Rural workplaces are changing—shaped by new expectations around flexibility, fairness, communication, and well-being. A series of workshops led by the Rural Design Centre Innovation Project, in partnership with NICRE and Stick

Small and medium-sized businesses often face significant barriers when it comes to planning for future risks—primarily due to limited time and capacity. Research by the Enterprise Research Centre shows that many

Agglomeration-oriented theories have grown significantly in the past decade in the explanation and promotion of entrepreneurship. Theoretical frameworks and normative models such as entrepreneurial ecosystems are insufficient to observe, explain, and

This report examines the effects of rising business costs on 2,000 rural and 600 urban firms. Despite pressures, two-thirds kept employment steady, and 41% of rural firms saw turnover growth. Cash