Entries by Wendy Ferris

Let’s stop talking about ‘innovation’…

The term ‘innovation’ is widely used and abused. What do you imagine when you think of ‘innovation’? Something new? New technology? New drugs or the latest app? Any or all of these could be innovations each of which will have very different impacts on society and the firms and consumers they touch. A new edition… Read more

ERC Research Showcase

The latest ERC Research Showcase event took place on 20th January at WBS at The Shard in London. As usual we had a busy and varied agenda, with the ERC team reporting on a selection of the research projects being undertaken at the Centre. In the morning we covered a range of topics including: The links… Read more

Building resilience in under-represented entrepreneurs: A European comparative study

Latest report by the ERC is the result of a two year, five-country study into small business resilience with a particular focus on firms with female and ethnic minority leaders. The overarching aim of the research was to deliver insight into what makes small businesses resilient and thus more able to survive crises. We also… Read more

European firms shun crisis planning ahead of Brexit, study shows

Major new study of 2,975 small businesses across five European cities, supported by J.P. Morgan, finds one-third have experienced a threat to their survival in the past five years. Despite this, crisis planning is not widely undertaken by small businesses, which struggle to identify the most potent sources of business disruption Firms run by women… Read more

Building resilience in under-represented entrepreneurs: A European comparative study

Equipping under-represented SME leaders with the skills and resources to identify and plan for key future risks will not only improve their firms’ resilience – it will also deliver ongoing wider economic benefits. These are some of the takeaways from our latest research report, supported by the JPMorgan Chase Foundation – Building resilience in under-represented… Read more

November & December 2019 Press Coverage

Financial Times Special Report – the UK’s Entrepreneurs Belfast Telegraph Why Investment can begin at home   Financial Times Scale-ups prioritised in productivity drive  Financial Times Tees Valley steels itself for recovery with start-up funds Financial Times UK political parties urged to focus on champions of prosperity                    … Read more

Small business priorities for a new parliament

Newly-elected MPs heading to Westminster, inboxes no doubt groaning with congratulatory messages and policy briefings, have a busy few weeks (and months) ahead. Moving forward with the first stage of getting Brexit done – the EU Withdrawal Bill – will consume much of parliament’s time at the beginning of 2020. But then what? It’s the… Read more

Professor Mike Wright

It was with great sadness that we heard this week about the passing of Professor Mike Wright, Imperial College. Mike was a founder director of the Enterprise Research Centre in 2013 and worked closely with ERC staff until very recently. Mike was a gifted and highly productive researcher and a valued colleague. He will be… Read more

October 2019 Press Coverage

This is Wiltshire Brexit uncertainty blamed as number of new Swindon start-ups plummets Swindon Advertiser Brexit uncertainty blamed as number of new Swindon start-ups plummets  Business News Wales Start-ups Slump as Entrepreneurs Brace for Brexit The Scotsman Deals are being made across Scotland at a healthy rate despite economic uncertainty Express and Star (Wolverhampton)Business Saving… Read more