learning and encouraging long-term success in entrepreneurial efforts, it produced an annual turnover growth of 13.8 per cent, and employment growth of 16.8 per cent. It had a positive effect on regional growth and showed the value of a university in building relationships and trust through learning. Its success led to its replication in other regions. On the back of LEAD, there was GOLD – ‘the board you can’t afford’. It offered businesses access to somebody from another company as a non-salaried non-executive board member, helping themwith expertise and to reflect on what they were doing. IDEAS targeted technology-based firms at the Daresbury Science and Innovation Centre, supporting 60 businesses and helping to create 55 jobs and safeguard 10 more, utilising network learning that technologyfocused SMEs rarely use. W2GH came from the reputation Lancaster had built. The £32m project supported the development of 15 business growth hubs, creating jobs and economic growth outside major cities. This was one of thefirst examples of a university delivering a large-scale economic development programme emanating from the UK government, with LUMS a network enabler between universities, Chambers of Commerce and Local Enterprise Partnerships. The programme appreciated the importance of local context to regional development, with activities tailored to the needs of local businesses. The evaluation of the programme estimated 4,351 jobs would be created, and there was £2 of private investment for every £1 invested in the programme, with Growth Hubs since rolled out across the country. The UK government wants to see more interaction and engagement between entrepreneurs and higher education institutes to develop higher level skills and support entrepreneurs. These examples show Lancaster leading the way for encompassing learning into regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, using a methodology that continues with programmes such as the Cumbria and Lancashire Forums, Made Smarter, Productivity through People, and more. The university can serve as a model for others, particularly around the integrated learning model, but also in terms of bringing people from business together. Lancaster works with government and businesses, entrepreneurs and community groups, and there is a vision to become a leader in entrepreneurship research and education. The University has identified and responded to needs in the region. Lancaster continues to show how learning can be better embedded within regional entrepreneurial ecosystems, and how higher education institutions are key players in promoting such learning not just with individual businesses, but across whole regions. By incorporating learning into wider regional development, potential benefits for businesses and the region are enhanced and we can have that impact on the wider community. Sarah Jackis a Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy. The original article, Developing local entrepreneurial ecosystems through integrated learning initiatives: the Lancaster case , was co-authored with Dr Rhiannon Pugh, Dr Danny Soetanto and Professor Eleanor Hamilton and Jacob and Marcus Wallenberg Professor of Innovative and Sustainable Business Development, Stockholm School of Economics. s.l.jack@lancaster.ac.uk
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