Monday 14 September 2026 | 1:30pm–3:30pm | Online
How can rural businesses, communities and local economies be supported to innovate, grow and thrive? And how can policy and investment respond more effectively to the realities of rural places?
Join the Rural Services Network for a dedicated National Rural Conference session exploring rural economic growth, business innovation, regeneration and the importance of recognising deprivation that can remain hidden behind perceptions of the countryside.
Taking place online on Monday 14 September, this session will bring together expertise from research, education, business support, local government and national government. Through expert presentations and an open panel discussion, attendees will hear about the challenges facing rural economies, innovative approaches to supporting rural businesses and the action needed to deliver inclusive, place-based growth.
What Will The Session Explore?
Rural economies make a significant contribution to national prosperity, but businesses and communities can face distinct barriers to growth. Distance, limited connectivity, workforce challenges and difficulties accessing business support or investment can all affect rural enterprise.
At the same time, traditional measures of deprivation do not always capture the experiences of rural, coastal and small communities, risking inequalities being overlooked when policies and resources are developed.
The session will explore:
- How innovation can unlock growth and strengthen rural economies
- What research tells us about the performance and needs of rural businesses
- How business support can reach SMEs across rural, coastal and market-town communities
- The value of joined-up outreach and place-based approaches
- Why perceptions of rural prosperity can conceal poverty and disadvantage
- How policy can better reflect the opportunities and challenges facing rural places
Kerry Booth, Chief Executive of the Rural Services Network, will open the session. The presentations will be followed by an open panel discussion and audience Q&A, providing an opportunity to put questions directly to the speakers and contribute to the wider conversation.
Meet The Speakers
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter was elected as the MP for Suffolk Coastal in July 2024 and was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in July 2026.
Her ministerial responsibilities include rural communities, planning and land use, protected landscapes, climate adaptation, access to nature, biodiversity, tree planting and forestry, and green finance. She also has responsibility for several Defra-sponsored organisations, including Natural England and the Forestry Commission.
Before entering Parliament, Jenny worked in communications and led national campaigns covering areas including infrastructure, transport, social housing, fuel poverty and employment. She has also served as Chair of the Labour Rural Research Group, helping to shape and promote policy addressing the needs of rural communities.
Presentation details to be announced soon!
Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope, Dean of Place and Social Purpose and Professor of Education, Plymouth Marjon University
Professor Tanya Ovenden-Hope has nearly four decades of experience across schools, colleges and universities as a teacher, teacher educator, educational leader and researcher.
Her work explores social inequity and educational disparity, with a particular focus on the challenges experienced by coastal, rural and small communities. Her latest research includes The Pretty Poverty Report, which calls for place-based equity in government measures of deprivation.
Professor Ovenden-Hope is also a Visiting Professor at Canterbury Christ Church University, an elected member of the British Educational Research Association Council and Vice-President of the International Council on Education for Teaching.
Presentation: Pretty Poverty: Challenging Perceptions of Rural Deprivation
Matthew Gorton, Deputy Director, National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE)
Matthew Gorton is Professor of Marketing at Newcastle University and Deputy Director of the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE).
He recently completed a study with colleagues from NICRE examining innovation in rural businesses for the Innovation and Research Caucus. He has also undertaken a range of research into the performance, needs and experiences of rural businesses across the UK.
Presentation: Catalysing Rural Innovation and Growth
Harriet Stainton, Growth Hub Delivery Manager (Interim), York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
Harriet Stainton is an experienced business growth, strategy and delivery professional with more than a decade of experience supporting organisations across the public, private and third sectors.
Working across York and North Yorkshire, Harriet has extensive experience engaging with businesses in rural, coastal and market-town communities. She specialises in designing and delivering programmes that help SMEs innovate, adopt new technologies, improve productivity and achieve sustainable growth.
Harriet is particularly passionate about connecting businesses with the right support and ensuring services are accessible, relevant and responsive to local challenges and opportunities.
Presentation: Meeting Businesses Where They Are: A Joined-Up Approach to Rural Outreach
Who Should Attend?
This session will be particularly valuable for:
- Local-authority economic development, regeneration and business-support teams
- Elected members with responsibility for economic growth or rural communities
- Combined authorities, Growth Hubs and Local Enterprise Partnerships
- Business networks and organisations supporting rural SMEs
- Community and voluntary-sector organisations
- Universities, researchers and education professionals
- Organisations working in skills, employment, investment or place-based development
- Anyone interested in building stronger, more inclusive rural economies
This is not an exhaustive list. We welcome colleagues from across RSN member organisations who have an interest in rural enterprise, regeneration, deprivation, inclusive growth or the long-term sustainability of rural places.
This session is exclusively available to RSN members. Attendance is included at no additional cost with eligible membership packages, while a small fee applies to Rural Village Services Group and Rural Market Town Group members.
Monday 14 September 2026
1:30pm – 3:30pm
Online
With thanks to our conference supporters
The Rural Services Network would like to thank our National Rural Conference 2026 supporters for helping us deliver this important programme of discussion, learning and shared rural experience.
