The 11^th OECD Rural Development Conference was held in Edinburgh this week. The theme for the conference was ‘Enhancing Rural Innovation’ and it covered topics including ‘Supporting business to innovate’, ‘Rural policy and future governance’ and ‘Promoting entrepreneurship’. A Policy Statement on Enhancing Rural Innovation stressing the importance of defining rural development beyond agriculture; recognising that rurality is not synonymous with decline; and aiming for rural policies that leverage regional assets was adopted at the end of the conference. The full statement can be found here.