The long-anticipated UK–EU Reset Summit, held in London on 19 May 2025, marked a significant, despite cautious, turning point in the post-Brexit relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. As the first structured political dialogue since the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in 2021, the summit offered a new platform… Read more
Launched on Small Business Saturday on 7th December 2024, the details of what the new Business Growth Service (Mk2) will provide for the small business sector across England has yet to be revealed, but we are assured it will not be long now. Under the previous Government, the business support landscape in England was weakened… Read more
We are pleased to announce the successful applicants for the DBT call for proposals on research into business investment. Following a competitive selection process, the following research projects have been awarded funding: Professor Marc Cowling (Oxford Brookes Business School) – £20,000 for Estimating Underinvestment in the UK Business Sector. Dr Thao Nguyen (Newcastle University) – £7,500… Read more
We are pleased to announce the successful applicants for the 2025 call for proposals under the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) funding initiative for secondary analyses of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS). After a competitive selection process, the following research projects have been awarded funding: Jorge Velez Ospina (University of Sussex and National… Read more
Last week we published the latest State of Small Business Britain report , our annual review of trends and issues affecting the UK’s small businesses, drawing together ERC research from the past year. These are testing times for small businesses. Recent years have seen them have to confront a range of challenges, including a global… Read more
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has made available £20,000 (£24,000 @ 100% FEC) to fund a research project to strengthen the evidence base and improve understanding of domestic business investment, the mechanisms through which growth and productivity are affected and the role for government. The Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) is administering this call… Read more
The ERC team hosted the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) 2025 ECR/ECA Winter Symposium on February 19th at Warwick Business School’s London offices at The Shard. The one-day symposium was designed to give early career researchers and doctoral students an opportunity to present research papers in development and gain feedback from both their… Read more
Around the world, the number of people deterred from starting a business because of fear it might fail is increasing, according to the GEM 2024/2025 Global Report titled Entrepreneurship Reality Check, released today at a special event to launch the report in Bilbao, Spain. Those who take the leap are uncertain about the expected role… Read more
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has made available £25,000 to fund five secondary analyses of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey. The Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) is administering this call on behalf of DBT. Note that applications will not be accepted from anyone who is being supported through current ERC grant funding. Applications are… Read more
ERC Director Stephen Roper authored a guest column in Business News Wales in which he discusses a research project commissioned by Economic Intelligence Wales highlighting the pivotal role R&D-intensive firms can play in driving Wales towards a stronger economic future. Stephen says “As we aim for economic growth, it’s critical to keep our sights on… Read more
