Edge Hill University’s SME Productivity & Innovation Centre (SME PIC) has had its High Growth Innovation Sprint programme endorsed by the ScaleUp Institute, recognising its huge success in boosting growth and creating jobs.
Edge Hill is the first university in the North West to receive the ScaleUp Institute’s endorsement, identifying its High Growth Innovation Sprint programme as one of the best scaleup programmes in the country.
The programme supports scaleup potential businesses developing their strategic growth plans, focusing on business performance, leadership and workforce capabilities.
Since 2017, it has helped over 240 high-growth potential businesses achieve an average 29% increase in turnover and has created 517 new jobs.
The programme’s latest independent evaluation, published in March 2023, found participants typically achieve between 25% to 48% profitability improvements and a return on public investment of £1: £13.90.
Professor Simon Bolton, Director of the SME PIC, said: “Having the success of the Innovation Sprint Programme recognised by the ScaleUp Institute is a huge milestone for SME PIC.
“The programme has had a huge economic impact across Lancashire and the Liverpool City Region, creating jobs, boosting profits and helping businesses launch new products.
“I also want to thank the businesses who’ve participated in the programme for their enthusiasm in working with us to innovate and achieve their growth potential.”
The ScaleUp Institute said: “ Scaleup leaders consistently state that they want access to local expertise from universities and business schools, including access to academic and graduate talent.
“ Edge Hill University’s High Growth Innovation Sprint programme is an exemplar of this type of support and demonstrates the role that universities across the country can play as anchor institutions in the scaleup ecosystem.”
SME PIC’s dedicated support includes scaleup strategy development, intensive online workshops, one-to-one support with academics and business experts and world-class rapid innovation tools and frameworks.
Business performance analytics and market research drive data literacy and effective decision-making, tailoring SME PIC’s wrap-around support to each business’ growth strategy.
Professor George Talbot, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, said: “SME PIC is a perfect example of the positive impact of Edge Hill’s research and commitment to knowledge exchange.
“ The leading business and computer science experts in the PIC have employed cutting-edge research and the latest technology to help hundreds of businesses grow and create jobs. It’s a huge achievement that the entire University is proud of.”
The ScaleUp Institute is a private sector not-for-profit company focused on making the UK the best place in the world to scale up a business.
The Institute collaborates with policymakers, corporate partners and educational institutions to identify opportunities that will support scaleup business.
The endorsement was announced at the launch of the ScaleUp Institutes Annual Review 2023, ScaleUp Planet-Evolution and Revolution.
More information about the SME PIC at Edge Hill University can be found on its webpage.
To discover more about courses at Edge Hill, please visit ehu.ac.uk/study.
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