Dynamics of place-based innovation – What is the role of business support in helping first-time rural SME innovators overcoming innovation barriers in Scotland? (IRCOpen003)

This project addresses ‘determining the constraints to UK economic growth’, and investigates how first-time-innovator rural small businesses could overcome innovation barriers in rural Scotland.

The project focuses on the role of business advice to support these first-time rural innovators, and will delve into how business support interventions need to be tailored to rural small firms. In this context, of interest is what types of business support enables placemaking in rural areas to leverage place-based innovation and contributes to rural development considering the complex interplay between firms and their social, economic, political, physical or spatial contexts (including the natural environment).

Project team: Dr Inge Hill, Dr Serdal Ozusaglam, Dr Hamisu Salihu and Tess Hartland

Project Showcase

5 IRC projects were selected to capture their aims in a few bullet points which were then presented in a banner and showcased during the IRC event Place Matters: Unlocking Growth through Research and Innovation. An event which took place on October 9th, 2025, at The Shard, London.

Below is the banner created for this project.