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Research at Aston University has influenced and shaped business support policy in the UK and changed the strategic direction of small businesses in the Midlands region, which has led to increased growth and profitability. A specific impact of the research nationally has been to inform the Coalition Government's business support policy and form part of the underlying rationale for the new Growth Accelerator business support programme in England. At regional level the research has changed strategic thinking, specifically in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull region through its Local Enterprise Partnership, the Leeds City Region, and the Greater London Authority, influencing business support strategy and practice in those areas. On the ground, Aston's research has had a direct impact on the growth, job creation and profitability of small businesses in the Midlands.
Because of the arduous nature of recruit training, high wastage (due to failure or withdrawal) has always been a problem for the Armed Services. A ten year programme of research funded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) led to changes in the delivery of training across the three Armed Services (especially the Army), the formation of a new Army training establishment, a new tri-service monitoring and training body, better mental health in military recruits, and significant reductions in wastage rates (up to 15%). The model developed by this research has also informed training in the Canadian and United States Armed Services.
The University of South Wales, through their Welsh Enterprise Institute (including Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) has developed a long and impressive history of Entrepreneurship research. It was because of this record of producing high impact research work that the Federation of Small Business (FSB) survey was awarded and conducted in 2008. The survey examined the barriers to growth of small firms from a wide range of economic and managerial perspectives. The impact of the survey generated numerous policy documents, as well as academic research outputs.
An enhanced appreciation of entrepreneurship, innovation and new enterprise growth has become crucial to economic policy around the globe. Led by Professor Gordon Murray OBE, research at the University of Exeter continues to play a significant role in broadening understanding of this increasingly important area. Murray's research and expertise have assisted in shaping policy in several countries, including the UK, and have underpinned the formation of an influential international academic policymaker forum. The effective delivery of Murray's research to the world of business and industry has strengthened the vital links with academia, and through consistent engagement with a wider audience in high-profile media appearances, Murray's research continues to influence economic policy.
Collaboration between Leicester and Singapore's Workforce Development Agency has led to impacts underpinned by a 25-year history of research into skills, training and workforce development. The relationship has enabled the establishment of Singapore's first policy research centre designed to inform the government's workforce policy revaluation. Before the establishment of the Centre for Skills, Performance and Productivity Research (CSPPR), independent research in these areas was virtually non-existent in Singapore. Impacts include creating a new field of study in Singapore; contribution to government policy and direction in Singapore, and a resulting contribution to the well-being of the country's economy and society.
This international research project, based on the work of a consortium of five European countries led by the University of Salford in the area of Enterprise Cultural Heritage (ECH), (the term describing an organisation's history and its creations that have the potential to uniquely innovate and differentiate their products and services), demonstrates the following impact:
The research of the Centre has had a wide range of impacts including economic, commercial and organisational impacts at the level of individual firms, impacts on public policy at the UK level and impacts on practitioners and professional services at the international level. Featured here are examples of each of these types of impact, including an example of impact being made by the whole team on the Nigerian undergraduate entrepreneurship provision and examples of impacts being made at the level of individual firms through the business incubator, on professional practices in a Scottish context through TalentScotland and on UK government policy through work with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) by individual team members.
Vocational education and training in England have been comprehensively restructured as a direct result of research by the Department of Management's vocational training group (Wolf, Gospel, De Coulon). The group has reconceptualised market failure in the training field, and the conditions for beneficial government involvement. Close involvement with the policy community culminated in an invitation to one member to conduct a Review of vocational education for the coalition government. The Wolf Review recommendations, including a comprehensive restructuring of funding and accountability mechanisms and programme content, have been accepted in full, and Wolf is actively involved in their implementation.
This case demonstrates how researchby the Centre for International Business University of Leeds (CIBUL) between 2001and 2008 has been utilised by Nestlé - the world's largest nutrition company - to improve its communication strategy and evaluate how its foreign investments create value and influence economic development, innovation, environment, society and different stakeholder groups (e.g. employees, suppliers and governments). CIBUL's research has also (1) improved the services offered by intermediaries such as the investment-promotion arm of the British government (the UKTI) and the UN body for economic development (UNCTAD), and (2) benefited the businesses thatthese bodies serve by identifying factors that help theminternationalise and derive greater value from international expansion.
This case study relates to the application of entrepreneurship education research to entrepreneurship development practice internationally. The socio-economic impact of the research has been tracked with impact maps and demonstrates impact upon entrepreneurship policy, advisory agency stances and university practice in the UK, continental Europe, other industrially-developed countries and developing countries. In addition to universal entrepreneurship education research and associated impact, the work has had specific impact upon specific facets of entrepreneurship including ethnic minority enterprise, creative industries entrepreneurship and e-entrepreneurship.