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Key Insights from the Latest Rural Economy Research Group Seminar

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Francis Naab 4th Dec 2025 NISRIE

Key Insights from the Latest Rural Economy Research Group Seminar

Introduction

Last month, I had the opportunity to join research colleagues, policymakers, business owners, and rural advocates at the House of Lords for the latest Rural Economy Research Group (RERG) seminar, chaired by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering. The session focused on a question that remains fundamental to Scotland’s future: How can devolved and local approaches tackle public service inequality, improve connectivity, and strengthen the economic resilience of rural communities?

This discussion was timely because across the UK, local government reform and digital-first service models are reshaping the delivery and governance of essential services. Yet for rural, island, and some coastal areas, these shifts often expose long-standing structural gaps in access (physical, social and digital), investment, infrastructure, and influence. My reflections draw on the insightful contributions made during the panel discussion at the seminar and on evidence emerging from the Scottish Government's Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Strategic Research Programme 2022-2027, particularly through the NISRIE and ReRIC projects I am involved in.

Digital connectivity: a foundation for rural and island economies

Reliable digital access is no longer optional for rural life, it is the foundation of most economies. The seminar highlighted that connectivity underpins everything within rural and island communities, from farm operations and small-business trading to healthcare access, education, social inclusion and civic participation. Access to banking services, both in-person and online, remains particularly important in rural and island areas, where older populations may be less digitally confident and therefore more vulnerable to exclusion as services move online.

While national infrastructure programmes have delivered improvements, too many communities remain in what residents describe as “not spots” or “digital deserts.” Recent research details this frequently: farmers unable to access online support schemes (Tiwasing et al., 2022); small businesses losing customers due to unreliable broadband (Koutroumpis and Sarri, 2023); children struggling with remote learning (Andew et al, 2020); or people unable to remotely order repeat prescriptions through the NHS apps (Sukriti et al., 2023; Zhang et al., 2023; Abel et al., 2024) 

Yet rural areas are also demonstrating remarkable leadership. Community-led broadband initiatives in places such as Forth Valley and Lomond show that locally driven solutions in rural digital infrastructure can be beneficial when centrally funded national programmes fall short of achieving wider coverage, faster speeds and better services.

Digital first means digital inclusion

Digital first must mean everyone first. Local initiatives can harness and support local volunteer mobilisation and place-based innovation to empower individuals to understand and use digital services. In Northumberland, a community-led initiative is already putting locally supported activities in place to ensure that broadband rollout translates into real, meaningful connectivity for everyone.

The Rural Digital Inclusion Project led by Community Action Northumberland and the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise links trained digital volunteers with long-standing community anchors such as village halls to help rural residents build digital skills, access services, and strengthen social ties. This shows what is possible when infrastructure, community institutions, and local agency come together.

Connectivity as a form of empowerment

Across the RERG seminar’s four themes, a common thread emerged which emphasises that connectivity is not just about cables, roads, ferries and masts, it is about empowerment.

  • Physical connectivity determines who can travel, trade, and transport goods.
  • Digital connectivity determines who can access public services or participate in modern economic life.
  • Social and institutional connectivity determines whether rural people are heard in policy spaces that shape their future.

Looking ahead towards empowerment

Looking ahead, I believe my key reflections from the seminar revolve around two fundamental areas:  

Rural and island digital connectivity

  • Digital infrastructure alone is not enough. Broadband rollout must be paired with capacity-building, digital skills support, and community outreach for inclusion to be meaningful.
  • Leverage existing community assets. Village halls and community buildings (or their equivalents) can serve as trusted, familiar entry-points for digital inclusion. This builds on what rural communities already know and value.
  • Flexible and locally-tailored support matters. The “Digital Champions” model allows support to be adapted to local needs, whether that’s helping farmers apply for support schemes, older residents to access services, enabling small businesses to gain digital skills, or offering informal learning settings.
  • Rural and island digital hubs. Local and regional development initiatives should consider investment in digital hubs that can serve communities and businesses, and attract business investments to rural areas.

Scotland’s rural and island policy landscape

  • Evidence-led policymaking. In hardnessing dividends from rural and island areas, policies must often be supported by evidence. Through the NISRIE Insights Series, such evidence is available to shape and guide policy conception and/or implementation. Watch out for the forthcoming NISRIE Insights report with a dedicated section on broadband and mobile connectivity in Scotland. This will be published on the Rural Exchange. The 2023 Rural and Islands Insights report is available here.
  • Empowered local governance. Councils, community trusts, and regional partnerships must be resourced, not just tasked, to develop place-based solutions. Rural and island residents should be recognised as co-designers, not merely recipients, of policy interventions.

References



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