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UpScaler
Published on 07 March 2020
United Kingdom
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
Data from the Scale-Up Institute suggests that scaling firms are under-represented in D2N2 area. There is aspiration to boost these numbers and from 2015 to 2017 the Growth Hub was engaging with SMEs who were experiencing high growth and wanting support to scale, demonstrating demand. The Growth Hub identified a gap for local high-growth support to bolster existing national programmes.
UpScaler is delivered by Nottingham Trent University in partnership with East Midlands Chamber. Stakeholders include the D2N2 Growth Hub, local authorities and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership. Beneficiaries are local businesses who directly access support from the project.
The target groups:
• existing scale up companies
• potential scale up companies
• ambitious micro firms with tangible evidence of ‘scaleability’.
All must be SMEs based in D2N2. A scale-up has at least 20% year-on-year growth in employment and/or turnover for each of the last 3 years, with at least 10 employees. Potential scale-ups partially meet the scale-up criteria.
An initial diagnostic helps to establish eligibility for the programme and enables dedicated business advisors steer the beneficiaries to the most appropriate support. Support includes a series of Strategic Leader workshops delivered by experts in their field. A monthly Forum addresses specific scale-up challenges and provides peer-to-peer learning opportunities and networking. Grants support SMEs to recruit graduates or take-on a business coach.
UpScaler is delivered by Nottingham Trent University in partnership with East Midlands Chamber. Stakeholders include the D2N2 Growth Hub, local authorities and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership. Beneficiaries are local businesses who directly access support from the project.
The target groups:
• existing scale up companies
• potential scale up companies
• ambitious micro firms with tangible evidence of ‘scaleability’.
All must be SMEs based in D2N2. A scale-up has at least 20% year-on-year growth in employment and/or turnover for each of the last 3 years, with at least 10 employees. Potential scale-ups partially meet the scale-up criteria.
An initial diagnostic helps to establish eligibility for the programme and enables dedicated business advisors steer the beneficiaries to the most appropriate support. Support includes a series of Strategic Leader workshops delivered by experts in their field. A monthly Forum addresses specific scale-up challenges and provides peer-to-peer learning opportunities and networking. Grants support SMEs to recruit graduates or take-on a business coach.
Expert opinion
The UpScaler programme has been clearly designed for companies experiencing high growth or who have the potential to become such companies. It offers a variety of support services: a diagnostic review of the business' unique scale-up challenge, expert workshops, a forum for peer-to-peer learning and grants for coaching & graduate placements. The programme helps businesses to consolidate their business strategy, define their values, adopt new tools and technologies, tap into new business opportunities and to make relevant connections with other companies in a similar stage.
Especially interesting is the possibility to get grants for graduate placements. The programme provides 20% of funding towards the hire of a graduate for a period up to 12 months. This enables companies to receive young talent and provides the graduates very relevant work experience. Something similar has been done in the FUSION programme (Northern Ireland), which has proven that many students placed in companies will continue to work there, which in turn helps to retain local talent.
https://www.interregeurope.eu/policylearning/good-practices/item/2170/intertradeireland-fusion-programme/
Especially interesting is the possibility to get grants for graduate placements. The programme provides 20% of funding towards the hire of a graduate for a period up to 12 months. This enables companies to receive young talent and provides the graduates very relevant work experience. Something similar has been done in the FUSION programme (Northern Ireland), which has proven that many students placed in companies will continue to work there, which in turn helps to retain local talent.
https://www.interregeurope.eu/policylearning/good-practices/item/2170/intertradeireland-fusion-programme/
Works at
Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform
Resources needed
£700,000 funding from ERDF with match funding from Nottingham Trent University and East Midlands Chamber.
There is a team of 4 people dedicated to the project plus additional management resources allocated to the project from NTU and EMC.
There is a team of 4 people dedicated to the project plus additional management resources allocated to the project from NTU and EMC.
Evidence of success
Benefits to SMEs:
• Consolidation of business strategy, vision & values
• Refinement of teams with the right skills and values for the business
• Adoption of new tools & techniques
• Tapping into new business opportunities & funding
• Individuals enabled to adapt leadership style. Improved comms, training & performance management.
95% have taken away ideas to implement.
• Consolidation of business strategy, vision & values
• Refinement of teams with the right skills and values for the business
• Adoption of new tools & techniques
• Tapping into new business opportunities & funding
• Individuals enabled to adapt leadership style. Improved comms, training & performance management.
95% have taken away ideas to implement.
Potential for learning or transfer
• The programme design, management (strategic, operational & financial), marketing, operational delivery, monitoring & evaluation are transferable between areas and organisations.
• A recurring theme of the programme has been how interventions have encouraged and enabled senior managers to reflect on, adapt, and refocus their managerial & leadership style & to improve communication and team-building.
• A variety of project activities & interventions are integral to the project (diagnostic visits, workshops, networking events, coaching etc) - important lessons are therefore being learnt about promotion, management, cost-efficiency, logistics, programme design.
• There is a transferable focus on integration with the wider Ecosystem, with scaling SMEs facing specific challenges that the Ecosystem can address, while being able to benefit from multiple interventions.
• Evaluating the impact of interventions will help demonstrate good practice lessons learnt which will be transferable.
• A recurring theme of the programme has been how interventions have encouraged and enabled senior managers to reflect on, adapt, and refocus their managerial & leadership style & to improve communication and team-building.
• A variety of project activities & interventions are integral to the project (diagnostic visits, workshops, networking events, coaching etc) - important lessons are therefore being learnt about promotion, management, cost-efficiency, logistics, programme design.
• There is a transferable focus on integration with the wider Ecosystem, with scaling SMEs facing specific challenges that the Ecosystem can address, while being able to benefit from multiple interventions.
• Evaluating the impact of interventions will help demonstrate good practice lessons learnt which will be transferable.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Organisation
Nottingham City Council
United Kingdom
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Contact
D2N2 Growth Hub Manager