Published at 12:14, Friday, 22 June 2012

BRITAIN’S Energy Coast firmly believes that enterprise drives economic development.

It happens in some (not all) small business start-ups, and in businesses of all sizes, in the public sector, and in third sector and community organisations, where the organisational culture allows it and supports it.

Enterprise is having the confidence to try new ideas, and make innovations happen. It is closely linked to aspiration.

An innovation-driven economy needs a networked society with high levels of interaction and co-operation (social capital) where people have the knowledge, creativity and confidence to try something new.

BEC will support measures that encourage a culture of enterprise among West Cumbria’s residents, workforce and businesses. This will involve providing people with the information, skills, support and confidence to be entrepreneurial and to start their own businesses.

The following actions will stimulate a culture of enterprise:
Enterprising Communities – West Cumbria has a wealth of community based organisations, from sports clubs to choral groups to school governing bodies, which are often not thought of as enterprises, but where entrepreneurial activity nevertheless takes place. Often, these are substantial businesses in their own right, where the leaders have acquired skills and expertise on a par with those of conventional businesses.

There is the potential to tap into this enterprising behaviour in our community organisations and build on it to develop community-based enterprise.

Enterprising Minds – Enterprise is a can-do mindset; it cannot be trained, but it can be nurtured. We will support our schools in developing adventure learning, our higher education establishments in nurturing intellectual curiosity, and our life-long learning providers in creating opportunities to learn at whatever age. We will support cultural activities and organisations which foster the creativity on which innovation depends.

Enterprise Incubation – Anyone can invent something new, with access to the facilities to turn ideas and concepts into reality. We will make available innovation laboratories where everyone of whatever age and background, from schoolchildren to business people to retired people, can turn their ideas and concepts into reality, and new products can be developed by businesses (of all sizes) and individuals.

They will be linked to lifelong learning networks, incubation facilities, and knowledge transfer networks through our Higher Education and Research establishments. Innovators need access to finance to become entrepreneurs. We will look to develop venture capital finance involving equity funds at both regional and national levels to provide seed and gap capital to commercialise innovations.

Enterprise Coaching and Business Mentors – Having access to a business mentor who has “done it before” is an effective way of providing support to individuals starting a company, or looking to expand or diversify. Mentors can help provide a “sounding board” for ideas, as well as providing a perspective on business establishment and development. We will use the skills and understanding of successful entrepreneurs in the area, across a range of sectors, to provide coaching and mentoring to support people with ideas to work these ideas up to become successful innovations. We will build on the existing enterprise coaching programmes and link them to facilities for business incubation.

These actions will work alongside and complement the other actions included in the Blueprint, ensuring that start up businesses and entrepreneurs have access to finance, research and innovation, premises, ongoing business support and access to professional networks.

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk