Rural innovation and the green transition: The role of further education colleges

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.