Welcome to the Make Your Mark’s Enterprise Insights where only the most interesting enterprise developments and stories are delivered to you fortnightly.
Creating enterprising places
Building Britain’s Future (HM Government: pdf – 181KB)
New measures have been announced by the Government to help Britain through the recession and beyond – including a new Innovation Fund for ‘technology based’ companies, and a new National Skills Strategy to be launched later this year. The Innovation Fund will aim to direct £1billion of Government and private sector funds to ‘the sectors on which our future prosperity will be based’, whilst the National Skills Strategy will look at how enterprise can be more firmly embedded within higher and further education.
The recession has not affected London and the South East disproportionately as previously predicted, but has ‘reflected existing patterns of economic decline’, according to a report by the Work Foundation. Analysing responses to the recession in cities across the UK, they suggest that partnerships should be developed at a local level between local authorities, educational institutions, support services and other organisations to coordinate responses to the recessions.
Driving up innovation in businesses
Start-ups are no more likely to be innovative than established firms, according to research published by the late Department for Innovation Universities and Skills. However, through analysing 16,445 firms across the UK, they found that being a new firm in the service sector does increase the likelihood of being innovative – whilst new firms in manufacturing were less likely to be innovative than established firms. The report suggests that policy measures designed to encourage innovation may need to reflect these differences and give more support to start-ups in the manufacturing sector.
Speakers' corner
World-renowned US academic, Professor Zoltan Acs, flew in to talk exclusively to Enterprise Insights about his theories – read his interview here. He makes some controversial comments, including;
- Not all entrepreneurship should be encouraged
- Entrepreneurship is for the middle classes
- The UK should not try to emulate US enterprise culture
In the media
Over a third of businesses believe that the economy is showing signs of recovery, according to the latest results from Nottingham University Business School’s Business Barometer. The most recent British Chamber of Commerce Economic Survey results suggest, however, that whilst the worst of the recession may be over, talk of a recovery is too premature.
Entrepreneur Sir James Dyson has suggested that more attention should be given to supporting innovative entrepreneurs who can help solve the most pressing environmental problems.
IPPR have launched their new ‘Youth Tracker’ quarterly newsletter highlighting the latest research into young people – particularly in the area of youth disadvantage.
The 6th to 10th July is Shine Week – celebrating ‘all the talents in all young people’ – an initiative supported by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Make Your Mark.
Reshaping the UK economy: The role of public investment in financing growth (NESTA: pdf – 663KB)
More should be done by the Government to increase investment in high-growth firms, according to a report by NESTA. Whilst high-growth firms are known to create more jobs – typically growing in size by 6% over the past five years, compared to a 1% national average – the availability of finance for these businesses has ‘declined drastically in the credit crunch’. They propose a new fund of funds – similar to the new Innovation Fund announced by the Government in Building Britain’s Future.
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