On the value of daughters

Having a daughter can be a delight. I should know I have two. It turns out however that having a daughter is not only a delight but that it can also have a significant effect on the decisions we make about how we run our organisations and businesses. A fascinating new research paper describes what… Read more

Supporting start-ups and local business

Start-ups are crucial to the growth of the UK economy, with nearly 600,000 companies established last year – but support is needed to sustain local businesses beyond the start-up phase. Growth of small business is an important part of driving economic progress and rebalancing the UK economy. The UK now has a larger number of… Read more

Building Better Business Resilience

The ERC held an event at The Shard in London on 5th of July to mark the launch of the first report from the ‘Building Better Business Resilience’ study. The project is  a 2-year European study investigating SME resilience in under-represented communities, which is being supported by the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. There was excellent engagement… Read more

Design Economy 2018

Mark Hart and the ERC team were pleased to be involved in producing a large part of the statistical evidence as well as showing the connection between design & innovation – an established driver of productivity for the new Design Council report on the design economy launched by Greg Clark MP (Secretary of State for BEIS)… Read more

Building better business health

Building better business health: what can we learn from public health campaigns? The continuing productivity gap between the UK and its international competitors has focussed attention on the competitiveness of UK firms. So how can we boost the health and vitality of UK businesses? Or, more accurately, how can we encourage businesses themselves to take… Read more

Europe-wide study on ‘shock-proof’ firms ahead of Brexit

Europe-wide study on ‘shock-proof’ firms ahead of Brexit Two-year project will learn lessons from 3,000 of Europe’s most resilient firms to spread best practice Focus on under-represented groups will seek to understand how entrepreneurs overcome barriers With 70% of European jobs in SMEs, study is seen as vital pre-Brexit to cushion economic fallout A new… Read more

GEM UK 2017

The launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor ( GEM)  2017 takes place today at the NatWest Accelerator Hub in London. The annual global survey is the world’s most authoritative study of entrepreneurial activity and has been running since 1999, Speakers at the launch included Mark Hart, ERC, Aston business School and Jonathan Levie, ERC, Strathcylde… Read more

ERC Stakeholder Event.

The ERC held a Stakeholder Event on 27th June 2018 at The Shard in London at which we launched five new research projects. There was excellent engagement from the stakeholders present, with many points raised that will help inform the future direction of the new projects as they develop over the coming months. To view the… Read more

State of Small Business Britain 2018

On the 21st June the ERC welcomed over 100 delegates to The Shard for our fifth State of Small Business Britain Conference, which this year had a focus on the topical theme of ‘Productivity and Place’. Through a lively mix of presentations and discussions, the conference covered a range of issues affecting the productivity of… Read more