Lancaster University has a longestablished reputation around entrepreneurship in the North West, working with businesses and entrepreneurs for their benefit and that of the whole region. It is a reputation based on 20 years of hard work, successful collaboration and knowledge exchange between our respected academics and experts, and individuals and businesses from across Lancashire, Cumbria, and beyond. Each year, the University’s knowledge exchange programmes reach hundreds of companies and their leaders. Lancaster University has designed programmes and events for different stakeholders, from business to government to the third sector, allowing them to come together and learn from each other. It sets an example and demonstrates the value of universities being proactively involved in regional economic development. But how can the Lancaster example show other universities and higher education providers the way to go when it comes to encouraging entrepreneurship? What makes Lancaster different from other establishments who provide similar programmes? Our research looked at how Lancaster University and the Management School fit into the North West regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, examining the influence of learning and role of universities in promoting entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial ecosystems emphasise the role of entrepreneurs and the broader social context that enables entrepreneurial actions to thrive, marking a shift from traditional thinking aboutfirms and markets to encompass the people, networks and institutions around them, such as universities. A well-functioning entrepreneurial ecosystemwill enable high levels of growth in entrepreneurial activities. Learning is an important means to enhance organisational and individual entrepreneurial performance, and experiential learning is especially critical. Learning is vital to regional economic growth and being geographically closer to knowledge can give business and individuals a competitive advantage. There is great potential for university designed and delivered programmes to support entrepreneurial and regional learning for better social and economic outcomes for people and places. However, the mere presence of a university does not ensure they will be productively used. By the time of our research, Lancaster University had delivered more than 50 projects supported by EU, national and regional funding since 2001, working with more than 5,000 companies and leading to the creation of more than 250 new businesses and 4,300 new jobs in SMEs. We focused on three led by what is now known as the Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy and which brought together entrepreneurship academics with members of the knowledge exchange team – LEAD, IDEAS andWave 2 Growth Hubs (W2GH), the foundations for many of the courses which still run, the bedrock for the success that continues today – and examined how they were designed, who was involved, and their outcomes. Universities have a role as a catalyst for creating and sustaining high-growth entrepreneurial activity in their regions. At Lancaster, this goes beyond traditional support, such as academic spin-offs, towards network building and encouraging regional culture changes. One of the strengths of Lancaster is that we work to integrate into the region. The University works on the international level, with other higher education establishments and big business, but we also operate on the regional level. Lancaster’s programmes encourage learning at individual, collective and wider regional levels, thus supporting the North West entrepreneurial ecosystem. At their core is the principle that supporting people to learn in a reflexive manner is key to producing better economic and entrepreneurial outcomes. The programmes are driven by an understanding of how entrepreneurs and regions learn. Research from the Department has shown that entrepreneurs learn when they reflect on what they do and how they do it, and this learning allows them to start to expand their businesses. By integrating universities into regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, this triggers learning both at individual and collective levels among businesses. It is through learning with and from others that entrepreneurs learn to overcome challenges, sustaining business growth. Programmes such as those led by Lancaster University that bring individuals together can encourage transformative learning, showing how universities can play a key role in strengthening and building their local entrepreneurial economy. LUMS engages in learning and knowledge transfer with businesses, giving entrepreneurialfirms the ability to discover opportunities and exploit them, providing a forum for entrepreneurs and businesspeople to learn, develop networks and exchange ideas and practice, with peers in a safe, trusted and respected environment. LEADfocused on improving business performance and advancing the personal development of owner/managers, reaching 1,700 companies employing 30,000 people and with an estimated annual turnover of £1bn. Through peer-to-peer learning, building regional trust, allowing participants to reflect on their 40 |
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