Rural innovation and the green transition: The role of Further Education Colleges

Henderson, Dylan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1466-1315 and Morgan, Kevin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2933-2231 2025. Rural innovation and the green transition: The role of Further Education Colleges. Journal of Rural Studies 114 , 103565. 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103565

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB)

Abstract

Further Education Colleges (FECs) have been undervalued in discussions of regional innovation, despite their critical role in providing vocational and educational training. This paper argues that FECs in rural areas may be well positioned to lead innovative responses to contemporary challenges, such as those posed by the green transition. The paper focuses on the potential of rural FECs to facilitate transformative innovation. It presents a case study of an FEC in Carmarthenshire, Wales (UK), seeking to identify ways to manage slurry for the benefit of the environment and society. It contributes by illustrating three integrated mechanisms by which rural FECs can develop solutions to the green transition: (i) aligning agendas for innovation and skills development; (ii) orchestrating distributed leadership; and (iii) creating experimental regulatory spaces. The findings highlight the potential of FECs to make a greater impact on the rural economy and contribute towards solutions for grand challenges facing society.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL) Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) T Technology > T Technology (General)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0743-0167
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 January 2025
Date of Acceptance:	7 January 2025
Last Modified:	28 Jan 2025 16:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/175084

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item