Tickets permit entry to the 2024 Rural Entrepreneurship Conference. Ticket prices include admission to the conference, lunches on each day of the conference, and one evening dinner.

Tickets permit entry to the 2024 Rural Entrepreneurship Conference. Ticket prices include admission to the conference, lunches on each day of the conference, and one evening dinner.

The Rural Entrepreneurship Conference (REC) gathers a range of national and international academics, practitioners, public servants and other stakeholders who, while developing networks, discuss different aspects of rural development, and share new knowledge informing research, policy and practice.
Conference Theme: "Empowering Rural Futures: Unleashing Entrepreneurial Potential in a Net-Zero Era"

This year's theme, 'Empowering Rural Futures: Unleashing Entrepreneurial Potential in a Net-Zero Era', focuses on driving sustainable entrepreneurship in rural areas, considering global Net-Zero commitments. The conference will explore the intersection of rural entrepreneurship, sustainability, and innovative strategies to overcome barriers in rural settings.

This theme encapsulates the dual aspects of addressing the challenges and barriers that rural entrepreneurs face (constrained entrepreneurship) and the strategies to support and empower them (conducive entrepreneurship). Moreover, it weaves in the critical element of sustainability and environmental responsibility, aligning with UK Net-Zero goals.

In 2024, we want to reflect on this dynamic and highly unpredictable environment, and explore its impact on farmers, rural businesses, community-led social enterprises as well as wider rural communities. How can rural businesses not simply survive, but how can they thrive in these incredibly constrained contexts?

To address this and other relevant questions, and to encourage debate about drivers and impacts of rural entrepreneurship, we welcome presentations that focus on, but are not limited to, the following themes:

Opportunities and challenges for rural development
Resilience of rural businesses in times of crisis
Technology, digitalisation and innovation in the rural economy
Farming, land-based entrepreneurship and the natural environment
Tourism, heritage and culture in the rural economy
Migration and rural development
Communities and land
Rural policy, support and investments in rural entrepreneurship
Regional and international dimensions of rural entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship and public service co-production
Social entrepreneurship and community enterprise
Social innovation and sustainable development
Innovative approaches to rural entrepreneurship research and practice
Critical perspectives and approaches informing rural theory
Open stream.