Historically, science, technology and innovation policy interventions have equated rural development to agricultural development. Despite the vital importance of agriculture, the rural economy has always been about more than just agriculture and includes enterprises and services such as food processing, textiles, forest products, health care, transport, energy, banking, telecommunications, and water and sanitation. Technology and other forms of knowledge upgrading of these activities have received little emphasis in rural development policy, yet are a potentially important way of contributing to poverty reduction and sustainable development.

With the growing diversification of rural livelihood options into non-farm activities and with the increasing interconnectedness of rural areas and activities to the global environment, a New Rural Economy is emerging. This is bringing with it greater pressures to innovate in response to, for instance, rapidly changing patterns of competition and market preferences and standards.

LINK is an initiative of the United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT). Its goal is to advance understanding of innovation for a New Rural Economy in developing countries through concepts, lessons and guidelines and by facilitating discussions amongst scholars, policymakers, development investors and practitioners dealing with rural development.