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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.
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.
Professor Jay Mitra's research has developed both a novel theory of entrepreneurship and a series of recommendations for effective teaching in entrepreneurship, with specific emphasis on how entrepreneurship education can help emerging economies. His research has informed his consultation work as a specialist in entrepreneurship training for the OECD's Local Economic and Employment Development Programme. Much of this research was conducted as part of a UK Government-sponsored Education Partnership in Africa programme, which established Mitra's links with education authorities and universities in Africa. The entrepreneurship education framework developed in the research has since been implemented nationwide in Nigeria as a result of these links.
Research at the University of Nottingham has augmented the aspirations and entrepreneurial capabilities of academic researchers through participation in the Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) business plan competition.
The content and pedagogy of the competition are built upon research pioneered by the University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation (UNIEI), delivered together with research councils and industry. Since 2008, more than 2,000 researchers have participated in the scheme and an independent evaluation demonstrated that it has enhanced their entrepreneurial skills, augmented their career aspirations and increased their engagement in the process of commercialising academic research.
Research by University of Huddersfield Business School has delivered regional and national impact in the field of entrepreneurship and enterprise. It has informed the award-winning delivery of business start-up and growth support programmes across Yorkshire and the Humber, contributing to the regional economy through additional business and job creation. It has helped to shape policy on national entrepreneurship and enterprise education for undergraduates, graduates and postgraduate research students. It has also influenced policy and guidance in the areas of enterprise and entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship support and social enterprise across the UK through researchers' involvement with national incubation, education and research-based organisations.
The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI) developed by Professor Autio and colleagues has been designed to address the shortcoming that policy makers lack robust measures for effective guidance for national entrepreneurship policy analysis, design and implementation. GEDI profiles National Systems of Entrepreneurship. The main impact has been as follows:
The ultimate beneficiaries of more effective policies are the businesses, taxpayers, and populations of these countries.
This case study focuses upon enterprise and enterprise education. It describes the impact of intellectual endeavours in this area, mainly surrounding the production of a framework to foster entrepreneurial behaviour, and the emergence of an enterprise support approach that continues to support entrepreneurs.
Impact includes:
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.
The Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship and Science (IDEAS) programme, worked with 60 `technology focused' small-and-medium sized enterprises to explore how they could be supported to facilitate growth. Workshops conducted at Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus (DSIC) resulted in 55 jobs being created and 10 safeguarded. The programme provided business owners with an understanding of their networks, based on research indicating that business growth can be stimulated by optimising the variety of contacts available to them. The successful application of these concepts, at Daresbury, contributed to the generation of approx. £13.1m of funding for new regional, national and international programmes to support a further 2,900 SMEs.
Research on the black presence in London conducted at UCL by Caroline Bressey was incorporated into the London, Sugary and Slavery Gallery (LSS), which opened at Museum of London Docklands (MoLD) in November 2007 and remains the only permanent gallery on slavery in a London museum. Developing a new narrative of London's historical relationship with enslavement, LSS has presented museums and galleries engaging with public history with a deeper and wider context through which to present their own historical narratives. Bressey's contribution embedded her unique methodological approaches in black historical geography into the gallery. In turn, LSS contributed to the creation of new discussions of London's history and new methodologies for museum practice.