The Rural Definition was introduced in 2004 as a joint project between the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC - formerly the Countryside Agency), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and the Welsh Assembly.
The LA Classification was introduced in 2005 as a Defra initiative.
Both were delivered by the Rural Evidence Research Centre at Birkbeck College (RERC).