»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp

This report was first published on 19 December 2013.

In February 2013, GrowthAccelerator and the University of Plymouth alongside the Entrepreneurs & Education Programme (EEP) agreed to work in partnership with Innovate UK (formerly Technology Strategy Board).

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp partnership piloted an approach where existing Innovate UK SME customers would be given access to a range of support for business growth alongside the grant funding to support their technological innovation.

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp pilot had two broad objectives:

• to test an hypothesis that SMEs who receive external advice and guidance (business support) alongside their Innovate UK grant funding are more likely to be successful

• to explore different ways of delivering the support to SMEs to help identify a delivery model and learn lessons for future delivery

»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp independent evaluation adopted a mixed-method approach that included data analysis, surveys of beneficiaries, in-depth interviews, case studies and stakeholder consultations.

This report is a summary of the findings and lessons that have emerged from that evaluation and informed the development of Innovate UK’s SME growth support.