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Preamble1.This research arose from Defra's concern that fostering better and more equitable access to services as part of the social inclusion agenda set out in its 2004 Rural Strategy, needs to be more firmly grounded in an appreciation of a quite rapidly changing context.2. Accordingly, the research objectives have been to establish:• the main factors influencing, and the changing nature and intensity of, the demand by rural households for services over the next ten years, • likely changes in the nature and expression of the factors shaping the supply of such services, • the implications of those likely changes in demand and supply for the various deliverers and recipients of rural services, • significant policy implications for government.3. To those ends, the research has focussed upon:• services for rural residents, rather than for rural businesses, and rather than 'rural service outlets' as such, • services provided for those residents by any sector -statutory, commercial, voluntary or community, • services delivered by any means including fixed-location outlets (whether single-purpose or multi-purpose) mobile units, home delivery and ICT, • both the demand for and supply of those services.4. It has, moreover, been generic in conception (i.e. it has sought more to distil general principles and lessons rather to focus in depth on specific services), forward looking in perspective (with the year 2015 being the consistent focus of projection and speculation) and policy-oriented in purpose.5. But to ensure a grounding in reality, that generic conception has been built upon a broad consideration of trends and issues relating to ten services: namely retailing, education and training, postal and delivery services, financial services, health care, social care, passenger transport, the provision of information and advice, leisure and recreation services, the emergency services.The term 'rural' is taken in this study to mean areas of low population density, including isolated dwellings, villages and small towns.2 Embracing service providers from any sector -statutory, commercial, voluntary, community -including as suggested by earlier remarks, both hybrid providers (notably community enterprises) and cross-sector partnerships of various sorts.3 Embracing services delivered to rural residents by any means including:• fixed location outlets whether single-purpose, multi-service and/ or part-time (hosting peripatetic practitioners for example), • mobile units (which are, by definition, part-time in their provision),• home delivery, • ICT. 4 Concerned equally with the demand for and supply of those services, taking as working definitions of those terms:• demand: want plus the readiness and ability to purchase,• supply: the act of making available a service to would-be consumers.5 Generic in conception -in the sense that although drawing evidence from a range of individual services (e.g.health-care, training, policing, passenger transport) this study's concern is to distil general principles and lessons rather than to explore in great detail any one service.6 Wholly forward-looking in perspective, meaning:• a focus on 2015 and the years leading up to it,• a concern for the drivers of change and their likely implications.7 Policy oriented, with a concern to distil the likely implications of the various putative changes for government .Some of these points are developed in more detail below.
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