Skills and labour shortages hinder rural business performance and growth NICRE’s latest State of Rural Enterprise Report Labour and skills availability: impacts on rural enterprise finds more than half of rural businesses in the North East, South West and West Midlands find it difficult to recruit or retain suitably-skilled staff, with a high proportion of… Read more
The Business Desk : Social Enterprises vital to post COVID-19 recovery Financial Times: Starting a business in the midst of a pandemic The Times: Number of new companies set up this year is likely to break record The Times: How small businesses can get one over the big boys in Zoom revolution IPSE: IPSE sets out… Read more
The Innovation State of the Nation Survey (ISNS) provides an annual overview of innovation activity across a representative sample of UK businesses. This report focuses on the 2025 survey, conducted in early 2025 and covering 2,020 firms. Results are compared with those from the 2023 and 2024 surveys to highlight short-term trends in innovation levels,… Read more
New ERC research commissioned by Economic Intelligence Wales (EIW) shows that Wales is emerging as a UK leader in high-value intangible investments. Commissioned by Economic Intelligence Wales, this latest report reveals that Welsh firms anticipate quick and predictable investment returns – a key factor that appeals to investors.
Call for proposals 2026 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… Read more
We were back at University of Warwick – Warwick Business School‘s offices at The Shard on December 2nd 2025 for the 10th annual ERC State of Small Business Britain Conference… and what a day! The focus this year was on small business support, inclusion and growth. Earlier this year, the government published a new small… Read more
The LSBS is an annual telephone survey of UK SMEs led by the DBT, which has been running since 2015. It covers a broad range of topics around the factors that affect SME performance, including ambition, innovation, exporting, training, access to finance and business support. The LSBS is a large-scale survey with official statistics status…. Read more
Several members of the ERC team took part in the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) conference in Glasgow on 5th and 6th November. The conference theme this year was “Collaborating across Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: opportunities for inclusion, innovation, sustainability, resilience and growth” ERC staff presented papers on a range of themes receiving a nomination… Read more
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor ( GEM ) UK National report 2024/25 is being launched today as part of the “Entrepreneurial Insights in a Turbulent World: Headline Findings from the GEM Survey” event hosted by Warwick Business School. Mark Hart, UK GEM lead will present findings from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024 UK survey. Highlights from… Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and the succession of lockdowns, social distancing rules and restrictions on businesses pushed many small businesses to the brink. While various forms of government support were available, corporate insolvencies in England and Wales rose in 2023 to the highest level in thirty years, according to the Insolvency Service. To be better… Read more
Striking new research findings from the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) at Warwick Business School show that while three quarters of UK firms acknowledge that they have responsibilities to address employee mental health, only half actually have any initiatives in place. What’s more, this ‘attitude to action’ gap is widest in the smallest firms, which are… Read more
Imagine two businesses. One is a tech start-up that has developed new AI software. Another is a well-established restaurant in a small town serving their local community. Both count as ‘micro’ businesses, yet their needs will be worlds apart, and no single policy could serve them both well. Micro businesses are often bundled into the… Read more
State of Rural Enterprise Report:
Skills and labour shortages hinder rural business performance and growth NICRE’s latest State of Rural Enterprise Report Labour and skills availability: impacts on rural enterprise finds more than half of rural businesses in the North East, South West and West Midlands find it difficult to recruit or retain suitably-skilled staff, with a high proportion of… Read more
COVID-19 Press coverage for the ERC
The Business Desk : Social Enterprises vital to post COVID-19 recovery Financial Times: Starting a business in the midst of a pandemic The Times: Number of new companies set up this year is likely to break record The Times: How small businesses can get one over the big boys in Zoom revolution IPSE: IPSE sets out… Read more
INSIGHT FROM INNOVATION STATE OF THE NATION SURVEY ( 2025)
The Innovation State of the Nation Survey (ISNS) provides an annual overview of innovation activity across a representative sample of UK businesses. This report focuses on the 2025 survey, conducted in early 2025 and covering 2,020 firms. Results are compared with those from the 2023 and 2024 surveys to highlight short-term trends in innovation levels,… Read more
Economic Intelligence Wales Report
New ERC research commissioned by Economic Intelligence Wales (EIW) shows that Wales is emerging as a UK leader in high-value intangible investments. Commissioned by Economic Intelligence Wales, this latest report reveals that Welsh firms anticipate quick and predictable investment returns – a key factor that appeals to investors.
Small grant funding for Secondary Analysis of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey
Call for proposals 2026 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… Read more
ERC State of Small Business Britain Conference 2025
We were back at University of Warwick – Warwick Business School‘s offices at The Shard on December 2nd 2025 for the 10th annual ERC State of Small Business Britain Conference… and what a day! The focus this year was on small business support, inclusion and growth. Earlier this year, the government published a new small… Read more
ERC Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS) research showcase event.
The LSBS is an annual telephone survey of UK SMEs led by the DBT, which has been running since 2015. It covers a broad range of topics around the factors that affect SME performance, including ambition, innovation, exporting, training, access to finance and business support. The LSBS is a large-scale survey with official statistics status…. Read more
ERC @ISBE 2025
Several members of the ERC team took part in the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) conference in Glasgow on 5th and 6th November. The conference theme this year was “Collaborating across Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: opportunities for inclusion, innovation, sustainability, resilience and growth” ERC staff presented papers on a range of themes receiving a nomination… Read more
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor UK National report 2024/25
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor ( GEM ) UK National report 2024/25 is being launched today as part of the “Entrepreneurial Insights in a Turbulent World: Headline Findings from the GEM Survey” event hosted by Warwick Business School. Mark Hart, UK GEM lead will present findings from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024 UK survey. Highlights from… Read more
Did digital technology help SMEs survive the Covid-19 pandemic?
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and the succession of lockdowns, social distancing rules and restrictions on businesses pushed many small businesses to the brink. While various forms of government support were available, corporate insolvencies in England and Wales rose in 2023 to the highest level in thirty years, according to the Insolvency Service. To be better… Read more
Mind the (Support) Gap: SMEs and the Mental Health Disconnect
Striking new research findings from the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) at Warwick Business School show that while three quarters of UK firms acknowledge that they have responsibilities to address employee mental health, only half actually have any initiatives in place. What’s more, this ‘attitude to action’ gap is widest in the smallest firms, which are… Read more
Time to Think Differently About Micro Firms
Imagine two businesses. One is a tech start-up that has developed new AI software. Another is a well-established restaurant in a small town serving their local community. Both count as ‘micro’ businesses, yet their needs will be worlds apart, and no single policy could serve them both well. Micro businesses are often bundled into the… Read more
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Here are some interesting links for you! Enjoy your stay :)Pages
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