Unlocking the Digital Potential of the UK’s Rural Areas

Rural England – the not-for-profit research body – is undertaking research on Unlocking the Digital Potential of the UK’s Rural Areas.

Rural England – which the Rural Services Network helped establish – wishes to hear from businesses in all sectors (from farms to tech companies), of all sizes (from sole traders to large enterprises), of all types (from PLCs to social enterprises) and of all ages (from start-ups to long-established firms).

A survey aimed at businesses operating in rural areas can be found here

This explores how rural-based businesses currently use digital (online IT and communications), how important it is to their business model, what constraints they face with digital uptake and what economic benefits could accrue if those constraints were overcome.

Digital connectivity, mobile working, Skype meetings and e-commerce have become the norm for many businesses and are hugely important to their efficiency and productivity.

Survey responses will be accepted until Friday 1st September, 2017.

Further information about the project, including Rural England’s research partner (Scotland’s Rural College) and its project funder (Amazon UK) can be found here