Global Entrepreneurship Week (16 - 22 November 2009) has arrived, along with a host of interesting research and policy news. More information about the week, and the thousands of events taking place in the UK, can be found at www.gew.org.uk

Unlocking enterprise potential

Transforming Behaviours: Entrepreneurs in disguise (Enterprise UK/ ComRes – pdf: 522KB)

Over half of young people (52%) have considered setting up their own business, yet only one in fourteen (7%) actually have, according to a survey of young people’s attitudes to entrepreneurship conducted by ComRes. The research, commissioned by Enterprise UK, found that many young people took part in enterprising activities, such as designing things or buying and selling things, but did not always connect this to running a business. Knowing someone who is an entrepreneur, as well as seeing entrepreneurial role models in the media, were shown to trigger entrepreneurial behaviour in young people.

Creating enterprising places

Young firms (one to five years old) account for two thirds of new jobs created in the economy, a report by the US Kauffman Foundation (co-founders of Global Entrepreneurship Week) shows. Based on data from the 2007 US Census, the research suggests that ‘new and young companies and the entrepreneurs that create them are the engines of job creation and eventual economy recovery’. Policy makers aiming to stimulate economy activity and reduce unemployment, the authors suggest, should concentrate their attention on supporting entrepreneurship rather than small firms more generally.

Skills for growth: the national skills strategy (BIS – pdf: 2.7MB)

Three quarters of young people will participate in higher education, or complete an advanced apprenticeship or equivalent, under plans by the Government to equip the UK for economic prosperity. This bold new headline vision announced by the Government will be facilitated through a number of measures announced in the new national skills strategy, including a ‘sharp reduction in the number of separate publically funded skills agencies’ in order to simplify skills funding and curriculum setting. Enterprise UK was highlighted in the report for its role in the ‘significant progress’ in equipping young people with the skills to be enterprising, and tasked with working with LSIS to disseminate examples of self-employment in further education.

Supporting businesses and growth

Entrepreneurs, British business and the global economy (Enterprise UK/ YouGov – pdf: 145KB)

The recession is not a barrier to entrepreneurship, a survey by YouGov for Enterprise UK suggests. Almost half of aspiring entrepreneurs (49%) say that the recession has had no impact on their desire to start-up, and one in ten (10%) believes it has actually improved their likelihood of doing so.
 

In the media

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) has arrived – with 88 countries around the world promoting entrepreneurship to new audiences and boosting entrepreneurial capabilities through thousands of events.

In the UK, GEW was launched at the British Library on Monday by Business Minister Lord Davies. At a Parliamentary Reception on Tuesday, representatives from the three major political parties, including Pat McFadden and Lord Hunt of Wirral, outlined the importance of entrepreneurship and how they would seek to promote it after the next election.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke of his pride that ‘Enterprise UK is the driving force behind this global movement’, whilst David Cameron, Leader of the Opposition, has highlighted his support for GEW, saying, ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week will help existing entrepreneurs to expand and innovate, and inspire a new generation to get involved as well’. Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, also described GEW as ‘a fantastic initiative’.
 

Driving up innovation in businesses

Measuring entrepreneurship: a collection of indicators 2009 edition (OECD – pdf: 4.1MB)

Whilst the UK performs comparatively well for entrepreneurship, there is still room for improvement, the annual compendium of entrepreneurship indicators across 23 OECD countries suggests. The report, timed to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week, details countries entrepreneurial performance on a number of indicators, as well as the determinants of entrepreneurship – such as access to finance, entrepreneurial capabilities and entrepreneurial culture.