Understanding Localised Policy Interventions In Business Support And Skills

Introduction

ICF GHK was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in April 2013 to provide robust evidence and analysis relating to four early case study examples of localised business and skills support policy interventions:

Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub;

Plymouth Growth Acceleration and Investment Network (GAIN);

The New Anglia Business Information Portal; and,

West of England LEP Employability Charter Mark.

This document is the final report and includes the key findings and synthesis of the research, outlining the implications for future policy intervention, in particular the national policy statement on business support to be published in autumn 2013, and identifying a number of recommendations and areas for consideration moving forward.

Study objectives

The overall objective of the study is to gather and present early evidence on the effective implementation and delivery of these four early examples of localised policy interventions that support and/or complement national provision. In particular the research aims to identify:

How the policy intervention was designed and implemented (e.g. strategic and operational context, delivery and funding model);

how the local intervention is different from national delivery, understanding the rationale for local differentiation;

the key enablers, drivers and conditions to achieving outcomes and impact;

barriers faced and how they were overcome; and,

identify lessons learned in order to inform wider policy development, including opportunities for replication in other areas of the country.

The case studies are at different stages of development and are ‘work in progress’ to different degrees, with developmental work still to be undertaken and impacts still to be generated and fully realised. This needs to be borne in mind when reviewing the case study references in this document.