Initial research has identified the following trends:

SMEs which have a track record of innovation are more likely to export successfully and more likely to generate growth from exporting than non-innovating firms.

Locality can have a positive effect on innovation outputs through direct linkages between SMEs and related organisations, through imitation effects and through spill overs. 

Open innovation has both dynamic and social benefits. Dynamic benefits mean that firms learn from open innovation in one period to be better innovators in subsequent periods. Social benefits mean that open innovators stimulate increased knowledge diffusion and raise innovation in otherwise un-related firms through ‘externalities of openness’.

Innovation support has significant longer term and survival benefits. Longer term benefits depend on the form of public support being provided but may occur through both legacy effects related to behavioural additionality and improved innovation outputs. Innovation support also increases firms’ survival probability by around 3 per cent over a decade.