Dr Jane Deville
Hull York Medical School
Jane is a researcher who has investigated rural and regional economic development, primarily around inequalities in rural areas. She has worked extensively with rural SME’s, local authorities, charities, and health organisations to improve understanding of the lived environment, access and adoption of digital technologies, and access to specialist knowledge to develop necessary skills for business and health care outcomes. Jane is now investigating healthcare inequalities and working to improve local health and wellbeing provision through research and collaboration with local authorities and universities.
Ms Liz Price
University of Lincoln
Liz Price is an Honorary Senior Fellow at Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln. She has over 25 years’ experience of research and evaluation in regional economic development, which she has undertaken for a number of government and third sector organisations. Her work is policy-orientated and includes a focus on rural services and infrastructure. Liz has degrees from Durham and Sheffield Hallam universities. She is currently employed as Fellow in Rural and Coastal Inequalities in Healthcare for Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust.
Dr Victoria Ellis-Vowles
University of Lincoln
Victoria is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Lincoln. Focusing on ways to improve pub sustainability, Victoria’s research sets its foundations within a decade of living and working within the pub and microbrewery sectors. Over the last 12 years, her research has identified the often overlooked and nuanced way pubs are managed and the challenges faced by publicans and microbrewery owners. Through her work, Victoria raises awareness of the lived realities of running pubs to expose the urgent need for greater support to preserve Britain’s greatest social institution.
Plunkett UK
Plunkett UK
Plunkett UK is a national charity with a vision for resilient, thriving and inclusive rural communities. They offer support to people in rural areas to set up and run a wide range of businesses which are owned by local communities. Plunkett UK offers a range of support to rural business to stimulate the local economy, create access to employment and training, tackle climate change and promote equality, diversity, and inclusion. In practical terms, their work raises awareness of the community business model UK-wide and provides business support and training to help business start-up and go on to thrive.
Prof Gary Bosworth
Northumbria University
Gary is a Professor of Rural Entrepreneurship at Northumbria University. Previously, he completed his PhD at Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy and worked for 12 years at the University of Lincoln.
Over 20 years researching rural businesses Gary has studied village pubs, microbreweries and coworking spaces as well as broader patterns of rural economic development. His work has identified complex links between changing rural populations and the businesses opportunities that now exist in the countryside. Most recently, he has identified that remote working is enabling a more diverse mix of creative and knowledge-intensive work to take place in rural communities. The challenge now is for other local businesses – like pubs – to tap into the spending power of these workers to benefit the wider rural economy.
Dr Claire Markham
Nottingham Trent University
Claire is a senior lecturer in sociology and criminology at NTU. Her PhD explored multiple representations and experiences surrounding the village pub. Following her PhD, she has worked on a number of research projects focusing on pubs community well-being. Findings from her PhD have been published. Her main research interests focus on rural pubs, and the sustainability of the rural pub and their communities.