ADD2311 Growth Hub Business support research

The aim of this commission is to gather a complete overview of business support organisations and the type of support they provide from across the capital alongside a gap analysis of where provision falls short, to inform the future development of the Growth Hub.

This piece of work will map business support provision (private, public and third sector) across London and identify proposals for how high-quality provision could be achieved in terms of business stage (e.g. pre-start up, start up, established), size (from sole traders and microbusinesses to high growth firms), the locations where support is being provided, the subject matters covered, and how the support is funded.

For completeness, researchers will be asked to only report on projects that have a minimum of one-year delivery from April 2019, in order to gather a picture of how Brexit will impact the availability of business support in the capital, and where the potential support gaps are.

The research is expected to look at: a) what is considered good quality business support from a national and international perspective b) identify which organisations and councils run business shows/fairs and enterprise weeks in London.

The objective of this project is to commission a consultancy to undertake a desk and telephone-based research that will provide a complete overview of the business support landscape in London. The research will:

• Provide an understanding of where business support gaps exist across London.
• Make recommendations for what additional business support provision is required and how this could be met by the public, private and third sector. This should include specific recommendations for where the London Growth Hub should focus its resources.
• Provide a database of providers of business support with contact details, to enable the Growth Hub to establish a cross referral system and build upon existing data held by the London Growth Hub.
• Identify where and when business events for SMEs take place in London building on the information already available on the London Growth Hub.
• Identify the impact of Brexit on the business support landscape.
• Special emphasis on business support provision to entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds.

The project will be tendered to a range of specialist consultancies.

We expect the research to be completed by June 2019, so it can inform the next phase of the development of the London Growth Hub.

During the last few months, the London Growth Hub team has been developing and implementing a range of face to face projects that support start ups and SMEs. One of the outcomes that has been identified as part of the evaluation of these projects is that SMEs from diverse backgrounds often do not access these initiatives.

To better understand the reasons why companies don’t access business support, we have been organising a range of roundtables with entrepreneurs from diverse communities (BAME women, disabled and LGBT). This has helped in identifying the challenges they face and how we can address them.

There will be a component of this research that will focus on how business support targets entrepreneurs from diverse groups and identify where the gaps are so that future Growth Hub interventions can address them.

Growth Hubs in England bring together public and private sector partners to promote, co-ordinate and deliver business support based on local needs, working in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

They provide a mechanism for integrating national and local business support provision, so it is easier for businesses to access the help and advice they need to thrive and grow.

In the Industrial Strategy (IS), published in November 2017, BEIS indicated that it aims to make Britain the best place to start and grow a business, and a global draw for innovators. One of the main objectives of the IS is to drive productivity in businesses of all sizes by increasing collaboration, building skills and ensuring everyone has the opportunity of good work and high-paying jobs.

In the IS, Growth Hubs are identified as one of the key organisations that will provide support to achieve these objectives.

This business support research project also fits with the Mayor’s Economic Development Strategy (EDS) objective ‘Creating the conditions for growth’. In the Strategy, one of the actions of the EDS is to support start-ups and business growth across London through the London Growth Hub.

Approval is being sought for up to £25,000 for the delivery of the business support project. The project will map business support provision (private, public and third sector) across London and identify how provision of business support could be achieved in terms of business stages

​​​​​​​The costs will be spread across two financial years, 2018/19 and 2019/20 as shown below:

​​​​​​​The costs for this project will be funded from the existing LEAP Growth Hub (WBS GE.0302.004). All necessary budget adjustments will be completed.