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Whilst little data exists about the numbers and finances of small-scale theatre companies (SSTC's) in the UK, they are a vital part of the theatre world whose national worth exceeds £2.5 billion annually (Theatre Futures, 2009). Yet, SSTCs attract little formal recognition (less than 2% receive Arts Council funding) and survival rates are correspondingly low (estimated at about 10%). In responding to clearly identified challenges of start-up and sustainability, Brunel research has benefited the theatre community by highlighting the need for a commercial agenda among theatre practitioners and by giving greater opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial `mind-set' through access to supportive networks. With particular reference to impact on creativity and culture, it has led to:
This has helped to promote sustained growth for a sector that has a critical impact on the theatre world more generally.
Multi-disciplinary research in strategic management and marketing at Northumbria University's Newcastle Business School has helped Renown Engineering Group (RE) to reposition itself from a "product manufacturer" to a "knowledge based high margin service provider". The direct impact of the university/RE partnership is a significant £4 million increase in sales; a 30% increase in sales margins and a significant increase in profits. Applying insights from the same body of research the Business School has also assisted NE-based companies TASS and Modrec (through different KTPs) to implement successful business and brand development as well as product and market diversification strategies and helped Sunderland City Council (SCC) develop their branding tools and values.
This case study demonstrates how the application of GRBOM has been used to deliver a national e-student system. Key impacts include:
Research by Professor Richard Thorpe from 2003 to 2010 at Leeds University Business School (LUBS) on management learning and leadership in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has impacted three groups: (i) business education providers (universities, colleges and training organisations), who have used the research to improve the training and education they provide for SMEs; (ii) SME owner-mangers, who have been exposed to the research when attending business programmes, which has enabled them to build on their entrepreneurial behaviour and improve their strategic planning; (iii) government, regional and sector policymakers, who have used the research in policies designed to generate growth in SMEs.
The University of Surrey has developed a set of tools that is enabling us to develop innovative web-based information systems with much lower resources than has formerly been possible.
These tools and techniques are being exploited by a University of Surrey spinout, Rulemotion.
The underlying platform has now been used to develop eight distinct business systems. A key feature of our approach is that it enables the business domain to be modelled in structured natural language (using the Object Management Group (OMG) supported standard SBVR [for Semantics of Business Vocabularies and Rules]). The server side functionality is then generated from the business model. Rulemotion is the first organisation to offer such extensive support of SBVR. This is a key fusion of the Business Analysis (Business Rules) and Information Technology domains — the gulf between these two communities has been an area of tension for the past 30 years.
This case study demonstrates how research into Object Orientated programming has resulted in a feature-rich e-commerce platform that has transformed the management and operations of a traditional sheet music company (Faber Music) and its expanding business partner network.
Impact includes:
Strathclyde research demonstrates that women entrepreneurs make an important contribution to economic development, but are disadvantaged by under-capitalization at start-up. Working with UK and devolved governments, leading banks and finance institutions, and regional enterprise support organizations, the researchers have stimulated and influenced the framing of policy debate; helped shape policy with regard to the participation of women entrepreneurs in economic growth; improved our understanding of factors underpinning access to finance opportunities for diverse enterprises; and influenced the work of business support organizations and commercial banks.
This case study is based on research into the Dissolving Boundaries (DB) Programme which uses ICT and face to face contact to address post-conflict mistrust between young people in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI). With funding from the Departments of Education in Belfast and Dublin, the programme has been operating in 300 schools since 1999. Research led by Austin (2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013) has had an impact in four broad ways; first, on teacher professional development by refining practice of collaborative learning using ICT; second, on the quality of pupil learning, including perceptions of cultural difference; third, on government policy in the way ICT is assessed by requiring schools to use "exchange" as a new requirement and, fourth, internationally, through supporting the `north-south' strand of the Belfast Agreement 1998, and shaping similar work in England and the Middle East.
The House of Commons' Backbench Business Committee, established in 2010, is responsible for programming backbench business in the Commons for roughly half a day a week. Its establishment followed the key recommendations of a report by Dr Meg Russell, the principal researcher, and Akash Paun. The report proposed such a committee with the responsibility for the timing of backbench business. The recommendation derived from extensive research in four comparator countries. The new Committee has provided backbenchers with an assured voice in the business of the House, and opened the way for important debates that might not otherwise have taken place.
Research published by Pugh, Wyld and Tyrrall (2001) was adopted by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) to provide the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of their lobbying campaign for a sliding scale of excise duty for small breweries (also known as "progressive beer duty"; henceforth, PBD). This campaign led to the introduction of PBD in the 2002 Budget. Subsequent evaluation (Wyld, Pugh and Tyrrall, 2010) established that PBD has helped to generate new businesses (well over 100) and new jobs (at least several hundred) that otherwise would not have been brought into existence.