A Longitudinal Study of 10 years of University Pre-Incubation in Wales

Pamela Voisey, Brychan Thomas, William Jones, A.O Olubiyi

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

    Abstract

    Business incubation worldwide is well documented and an established form of support for early stage businesses. Ten years ago an innovative project, the Graduate Teleworking initiative, 'GTi' was generated by the University of Glamorgan to support graduates into self-employment and entrepreneurship, at a time when more businesses were failing in the valleys of South East Wales than were being started. With the swift demise of traditional industries in the 1980s, principally coal mining, the need to keep wealth-creating talent nurtured in the University was paramount. The rise of the 'knowledge economy', fast internet connections and different ways of working allowed the development of cost-effective hot-desking pre-incubation tailored to the needs of graduate entrepreneurs. European funding under Objective One underpinned the development of more services offered to a wider audience - entrepreneurs from the community, working across all sectors - and this model has proved successful since 2001. This longitudinal study will provide a review of the achievements of GTi, through the success of its supported businesses. GTi's access to European funding from 2001-2007 generated targets of jobs and businesses 'created' within the incubator. However, sustainability of businesses over time, their ability to create revenue and jobs, are key indicators that real incubation has taken place. This study uses case studies of GTi incubated businesses to track results since 2001. A robust sample of 50% of all graduated businesses forms the baseline. This study looks at surviving 'graduated' businesses and gathers both quantitative and qualitative data on their achievements. Data gathered on cumulative turnover since business start, number of jobs created, and the result of GTi-delivered business support demonstrates the effectiveness of this form of incubation. At a time when support for business creation and development is being impacted by a shortfall in public funds,this low-cost, successful pre and early start incubation facility provides a model for other regions where the development of new and indigenous businesses is considered a priority.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationN/A
    Pages1-15
    Publication statusPublished - 10 Nov 2011
    Event Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference 2011 - Sheffield
    Duration: 9 Nov 201110 Nov 2011

    Conference

    Conference Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference 2011
    Period9/11/1110/11/11

    Keywords

    • university
    • business
    • pre-incubation
    • graduate

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