Betty-Ann Bryce - Rural Proofing: Through the Looking Glass

Betty-Ann Bryce is a Senior Policy Analyst and Rural Policy Expert at the OECD.  We take a deep-dive into the rural proofing process.   Episode summary: 01.10  Betty-Ann tells us about her professional background and how she started working in the rural policy and rural proofing space 02.55  What is rural proofing? 04.26  Why is rural proofing important for health? 08.50  Who should take part in rural proofing and at what stage in the process?  12.20  Who is responsible for gathering and interpreting "rural proofing intelligence"? 21.23  Which countries are doing rural proofing well? 32.58  What are some key factors that need to be in place for rural proofing to be effective? 39.35  What work is the OECD doing to support countries in doing rural proofing?   Key Messages Everyone is doing rural proofing, it is simply checking to see if a policy will negatively impact rural areas.  It can be called different things, rural proofing or territorial policy or applying a rural lens. Rural proofing is not for rural spaces, it is for departments that don't think rural, such as health departments.  They are the one designing policies.   Rural proofing relies on a holistic and integrated whole of government approach.  This means that different departments would sit down together and think about the direct and indirect consequences of their policies before they are rolled out.  This is often not done. A government department first needs to recognize that a policy that they are developing may have inequity embedded in it, they may not realize this.  They are not thinking about how implementation would be different in rural areas.  Who needs to be at the table?  Persons with knowledge of rural data - rural proofing intelligence, stakeholders who have relevant knowledge and the rural proofer (person from the government department). Rural proofing is a process not a strategy.  It is a trial and error process which needs to be designed in collaboration.  It needs to create tools that can be used by the "rural proofer". The rural proofer is responsible for rural proofing.  Think about what the rural proofer needs to do their job. The right stakeholders need to be involved at the right time.  This could be different at national and sub-national levels. Rural proofing intelligence is qualitative and quantitative, ideally there should be at least three types of evidence.  What is going on in rural places? It is important to use existing data and interpret it in a different way, with rural in mind.  Countries don't always know that they can use their existing data for rural proofing. Rural networks and on the ground voices are key for collecting qualitative data.   It is important that the collected rural proofing intelligence is translated so that the rural proofer can easily understand the data. We need to agree on what success is in regard to rural proofing.  Rural proofing has not failed if a policymaker does not change their decision after being presented with rural intelligence.  Rural proofing fails when the evidence is not clear or it was not gathered in a timely fashion not because an unfavourable decision was taken. Rural proofing takes time as it is a process that needs to be developed through collaboration. Finland, Canada and Northern Ireland are doing well at developing the rural proofing process.  It is in a country's interest to design policies that support rural places as these places contribute to their prosperity.  Rural places are assets and key partners.  It is important to change the framing and narrative when we talk about rural places.   Important factors for rural proofing for health: rural proofing intelligence, mapping connections between health and other departments, leverage existing initiative to improve efficiency rather than asking for more money, close collaboration between health and rural departments in the country.     OECD Webinars Rural Communication – a Three-part Dialogue Rural Communications Workshop 1: Where communication breaks down (Wednesday, 4 March 2026, 15:00-16:30 CET). Click to Register.   Rural Communications Workshop 2: What is good practice? (Wednesday, 18 March 2026, 15:00-16:30 CET). Click to Register.   Rural Communications Workshop 3: Measuring communication effectiveness (Wednesday, 15 April 2026, 15:00-16:30 CET). Click to Register. Rural Proofing – a Three-part Dialogue Rural Proofing Workshop 1: What is rural proofing intelligence? (Wednesday, 11 March 2026, 15:00-16:30 CET). Click to Register.   Rural Proofing Workshop 2: Involving the right stakeholders at the right time (Wednesday, 1 April 2026, 15:00-16:30 CET). Click to Register.   Rural Proofing Workshop 3: Delivering information that can drive action (Wednesday, 29 April 2026, 15:00-16:30 CET). Click to Register. Contact Betty-Ann Bryce here.   Rural Proofing for Health Paper Principles of Rural Policy   Thank you for listening to the Rural Road to Health! Rural Health Compass