Work

Who am I, who are we? How Living Labs help rural women navigate innovator identity

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Rural women innovators are pivotal contributors to European rural development. Despite gaining recognition as pioneers of innovations that respond to socio-ecological challenges, the way in which rural women navigate innovator identity remains less well understood. As a result, their innovation impact is curtailed. Using entrepreneurial identity as a theoretical underpinning, this paper explores the innovator identity concept. Empirical data provides insight into a single Living Lab situated in the south-east region of Ireland, one of nine Living Labs established across Europe under an EU Horizon project, which sought to empower and support rural women in a number of European contexts and increase the number of socio-ecological innovations led by women in agriculture, the rural economy and rural communities. Applying a participatory action research approach and drawing on participant stories, the paper charts the experiences of six innovators captured during nine day-long Living Lab meetings over a 32-month period, Mar 2023 to Oct 2025. Findings demonstrate the value of a Living Lab in helping these rural women navigate innovator identity and highlight both self- and social identity constructs within the Living Lab that contribute to identity navigation. Once innovator identities were mutually recognised within the Irish Living Lab, the women demonstrated a strong capacity to share unfiltered stories with each other to help navigate self- and social identity. In the safe space created within the Living Lab, the women developed the confidence to further build their own and each other's innovator identity. The paper concludes with insights relating to innovator identity as an independent concept within a Living Lab context, before offering avenues for future research.

Source: Journal of Rural Studies

DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2026.104347

Authors: Leana Reinl, Felicity Kelliher, Margaret Tynan, Micheál Gannon

Institution: South East Technological University

Language: English

Topic: Rural development and sustainability

Subfield: General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Reduced inequalities, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,090