Developing the North East Growth Hub
th Briefing: 19 January 2015 Developing the North East Growth Hub 1. Introduction 1.1 Introduction to the North East Local Enterprise Partnership The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is the Local Enterprise Partnership for the North East area. It is a public-private partnership set up to drive forward economic growth in the North East, an area that covers County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland. It is governed by 18 private and public sector Board members, chaired by former PWC senior partner, Paul Woolston. The small core executive team works with local partners to develop and deliver a North East plan for economic growth. This North East Strategic Economic Plan sets out a vision to create more and better jobs and achieve the vision for the economy to provide over one million jobs by 2024. The LEP will achieve this by focusing on six key areas. These are innovation, business support, skills, employability and inclusion, transport and digital connectivity, and economic assets and infrastructure. The North East LEP acts as a champion for the area, promoting the opportunities and strengths of the North East to government and investors and bringing public investment into the area. This includes the £290m North East Growth Deal and an allocation of £460m of European Structural and Investment Funds. It works with partners to ensure that the area has the right infrastructure and support for business growth. 1.2 The North East Strategic Economic Plan The North East LEP is responsible for driving the delivery of the North East Strategic Economic Plan. The Strategic Economic Plan is a comprehensive document detailing how our local economic ambition can, and will, grow in the coming years. The Strategic Economic Plan is for the North East – its businesses and its people. It has been tailored in such a way as to encourage innovative involvement and local inclusion and draws upon support and guidance from partners and local businesses. It details how we will work together with partners, businesses and communities in an innovative, pro-active and cohesive way, to allow them to implement the Plan’s ambitions. It has been created with the North East of England firmly in mind, meaning its recommendations are evidenced, grounded, measurable and achievable. 1 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 1.3 Ambitions for economic growth in the North East The North East LEP has identified opportunities for economic growth. These are business services, the new economy (creative, technology, digital, software and media), low carbon and renewable technologies, tourism and logistics. In addition, a small number of specific opportunities for high value jobs and growth through a number of the North East’s industrial concentrations have been identified. These are passenger vehicle manufacture, subsea, marine and related advanced manufacturing, life sciences and health, and creative, digital, software and technology-based services. 1.4 Business support and the North East Growth Hub The Strategic Economic Plan also sets out our ambitions for the creation of the North East Growth Hub, a single access point that provides a bespoke offer to business users. The North East Growth Hub is a critical component of how we facilitate and provide access to a cohesive and coordinated business support system that: Is driven by clear leadership Integrates of business and enterprise support provision and services providing access to finance Is clearly informed by an understanding of what works Is underpinned by a demand-led business support offer that is client focused Works pro-actively to support businesses to understand growth opportunities Is supported by an integrated financial support offer that covers all possible sources of support Is enhanced by a network of peer-to-peer channels Features devolved government resources 2. The national context 2.1 National policy Central government, through the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) provides, through growth hubs, a clear model for coordinating and simplifying business support so that it joins up national, local, public and private support and creates a seamless customer experience for businesses. As articulated in the publication ‘Small Business: GREAT Ambition’, government intends to make it easier for businesses to get the right support at the right time. Government reports that businesses don’t seek support because they don’t know where to go, they don’t know what help is available or relevant for them, they can’t compare prices or get a sense of the benefits and when they do think they need help, they find it hard to diagnose their problems correctly. Government is therefore working with public and private sector partners to join up the business support landscape to make it easier for businesses to find the right support at the right time. 2 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 2.2 Business support infrastructure and growth hubs One strand of this work is to maximise the use of government’s national business support resources and services. This will help to develop a business support infrastructure which ensures that business will get up-to-date, accurate and trusted advice. At the local level, this means that business support will be brought together through growth hubs, a single place that businesses can go to in order to get business support help. As a minimum requirement, Growth Hubs will improve coordination of support provided by local partners, creating a more coherent and streamlined offer for businesses, based around (and in response to) the local needs of business. 3. The North East Growth Hub 3.1 Introduction to the ‘North East Growth Hub’ concept Following the submission of the Strategic Economic Plan in March 2014 and government’s consideration of a comprehensive bid to the Local Growth Fund for a number of significant investments including the Growth Hub, government announced a North East Growth Deal in July 2014. This was announced through BIS. (See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/north-east-growth-deal-2014) The Growth Deal specifies the Growth Hub: “…a project to simplify and rationalise local and national business support services to ensure more businesses can identify and access appropriate support to help them thrive and grow.” The North East LEP is currently seeking to appoint a partner who will be contracted to initiate and operate the North East Growth Hub (the ‘Growth Hub’) from late February 2015 to June 2016. This will involve: The development of a digital platform for the Growth Hub which supports an initial set of functions The operation of the Growth Hub for the contract term Monitoring and analysis of the Growth Hub’s use and evaluation of its impact Preparation of a business case for the further development and sustainable operation of the Growth Hub for a five year period beyond the contract term In keeping with the Government’s ambitions for growth hubs, as articulated by BIS, the concept of the Growth Hub is to use and strengthen the existing relationships of organisations and businesses within the existing landscape of business and enterprise support and finance advice, helping all the parties involved to operate more effectively. The Growth Hub must be built with the business user at its core, and should involve the broad range of partners within the business and enterprise support (business and enterprise organisations and advisers) and access to finance sector. 3 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 The Growth Hub will be: For business, by business Designed from the business user perspective Intuitive Dynamic Innovative Self-sustaining (within the first full year of operation) Marketing the Growth Hub will be essential to drive business use and to develop the Growth Hub in response to a continually updating understanding of what businesses need. In order to promote the Growth Hub and drive use of the digital platform and all of its functions, the LEP intends to contract for specialist marketing services to deliver all marketing activity associated with the Growth Hub. The intelligence gained from marketing activity will inform Growth Hub development. 3.2 The Growth Hub ‘architecture’ The North East Growth Hub concept embraces the need to establish the right operational model and management arrangements and on ensuring that this model and arrangements are based on the right architecture (management and structure) and digital infrastructure. The Growth Hub requires the right ‘architecture’ for initiation and on-going operation. In creating this ‘architecture’, there is a complex set of interests, organisations and relationships that the Growth Hub must ultimately support, intermediate and broker, and whose requirements must be considered in the proposed design and operation. Such configurations cannot be established in a “big bang” approach and the development of the Growth Hub will necessarily be progressive. 4 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 The North East LEP is therefore considering a number of key questions regarding the progressive development of Growth Hub functions. These are: 3.3 How will service providers be encouraged to respond to questions and issues posted by businesses through the Growth Hub’s online community functions? Can support packages be developed around a business in response to the business’s enquiries which can be mediated and coordinated effectively from within the Growth Hub? How can the existing network of business and enterprise advisors be supported or coordinated to provide an improved customer journey and greater impact? How can direct editorial control be exercised in the Growth Hub by those with key responsibilities including the Growth Hub provider, curator, and broker and business support service providers? How will the Growth Hub relate to other growth hubs in the national growth hub network, how will it interface with the National Business Support Helpline and what are the possible synergies with local government, innovation hub and other business and enterprise support services, including the Scottish model ‘Business Gateway’? What are the potential opportunities for commercialisation of activity linked to the Growth Hub? Could this be some form of ‘business opportunity card/app’ which utilises user profiling of Growth Hub users and targeting of products and services for positive business impact? Users of the Growth Hub The end users i.e. the customers of the Growth Hub are expected to be small and mediumsized businesses in the North East. Other principal users are anticipated to be: Private sector intermediaries (bank managers, lawyers, accountants, business management consultants/advisors) Business and enterprise support service providers in the public, social and private sectors Finance providers Networks (see below) Representatives of national government programmes and initiatives Other users are likely to include: Micro businesses People who are currently considering start-up 5 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 3.4 Connecting existing regional partners, business support organisations networks and related assets and In creating the architecture, the Growth Hub will need to scope for the input of regional partners and link the physical assets of partner organisations across the region and sector/industry networks. It must be acknowledged that this list will evolve over time as the Growth Hub develops and as the network of innovation hubs becomes more established in the North East. At this stage, the architecture is likely to include as a minimum the following hubs, centres and networks, with an end desired result being that these hubs, centres and networks move relationships and linking conversations to and through the Growth Hub. Organisations, hubs and centres Automotive and Manufacturing Advanced Practice Institute (AMAP) (Sunderland University) Bionow Centre for Ageing and Vitality (Newcastle University) Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) Innovate UK Local authority economic development services and business development functions National Renewable Energy Centre (narec) North East Enterprise Agencies North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC) Newcastle Business and Innovation Centre (NE-BIC) Newcastle Science Central NETPark North East Business & Innovation Centre North East Procurement Organisation Sunderland Software City Sunderland University Enterprise & Innovation Centre Networks ABConnexions CompeteFor Dynamo Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF) Growth Acceleration and Investment Network (GAIN) North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) Northern Offshore Federation (NOF) North East Innovation Supernetwork (in development) North East Social Enterprise Partnership (NESEP) Rural Growth Network (RGN) and www.ruralconnect.biz 6 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 Universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland (a link to Teesside University of Teesside may be added at a future date) Voluntary Organisations Network North East (VONNE) 4. The Growth Hub contract 4.1 Overview As previously stated, the North East Strategic Economic Plan (March 2014) sets out a commitment to develop a growth hub with the purpose of facilitating a cohesive and coordinated business support system in the North East. The concept is motivated by the benefits that can be realised by joining up existing provision at a regional level and facilitating collaboration between private and public sector providers. The digital platform for the Growth Hub will use appropriate web technologies to provide high-quality and creative end-user experience driven by strategic and tactical business requirements. The Growth Hub will be content-rich, engaging, and dynamic with personalised content filtering and full mobile optimization. The Growth Hub will enable businesses in the North East LEP area to access the support and advice they need to start, sustain and grow their business activities. Through the digital platform services, the Growth Hub will support conversations between businesses, business networks (and other brokers) and enterprise support and access to finance websites and networks. It will provide various distinct yet inter-related functions to ensure user-related operability online. There will be opportunity to discuss and amend specific requirements or technical aspects of the Growth Hub during the development and operational phases in the initial year’s operation. 4.2 Growth Hub Functions and Outcomes 4.2.1 Production and delivery environments The process of initiating, assembling, integrating and proving the Growth Hub facilities implies a production environment and an operational environment. In addition to the testing of a beta version of the platform, the creation of the right production environment provides the facilities for testing and evaluating new functionality prior to introduction into the delivery environment and launch to users. Since on-going evolution and enhancement is planned for the Growth Hub, it is envisaged that a production environment will be a continuing aspect of the technical platform and its management tools. 4.2.2 Engaging with business It is essential that the design and functionality of the digital platform encourages the business audience to engage and interact with the Growth Hub and with each other. 7 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 Therefore, delivery of the Growth Hub will be informed by input from businesses in the North East and business support agencies located in the North East. In developing the Growth Hub, the North East LEP will encourage, promote and manage opportunities for businesses and stakeholders to inform functionality of the Growth Hub throughout its development and operation. The LEP expects that this process of ‘creative disruption’ will utilise connections already established by the LEP with identified regional partners. 4.3 Digital platform and multichannel software 4.3.1 Overview The Growth Hub will provide a digital platform and access to online communities for businesses in the North East LEP area that have the potential, ambition and commitment to grow. The Growth Hub will help new and established businesses to find the support they need as quickly as possible, for example business and enterprise support services related to access to finance, market expansion, product and service development, marketing, productivity, business resilience and environmental sustainability. The collection and presentation of information about business and enterprise support services and products and sources of finance available in the North East LEP area (whether local, regional, national and public, social or private sector) through a comprehensive directory will enable, through the application of an intuitive search tool: Customers (i.e. businesses) to identify the most appropriate business and enterprise support available to meet their needs Brokers (i.e. business and enterprise support agencies and private sector intermediaries) to identify and refer business customers to the most appropriate sources of business and enterprise support available in the LEP area, regardless of their physical location in the North East Contractors (i.e. providers of business and enterprise support services and products) to connect with businesses seeking business and enterprise support 4.3.2 Business market and online community functions Providing ‘business market’ functions which improve the availability of information about the characteristics, supply and demand for business and enterprise support services will steadily improve the performance of the open market for these business and enterprise support services and products in the North East. These functions will include, as a minimum, a channel through which service providers (business and enterprise support services; sources of finance) can raise awareness of their services and a customer-led review and rate system of business and enterprise support and finance services (peer to peer support), to be adopted/appropriated by business brokers and intermediaries. The availability of digitally supported communities of practice and communities for knowledge exchange in relation to aspects of business growth and operation will provide common ground, motivation and help business people to connect to likeminded people in order to grow potential and manage or resolve challenges. 8 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 Software will be able to organise content into topic groups with various content types (e.g. blog, discussion, email, chat, video, wiki and events etc.). It will allow users to create (user) relationships with each other. It is, therefore, expected that at least some of the areas within the Growth Hub will be moderated and governed environments in which the provenance of material is clear and there is also effective recourse and arbitration. The authentication of users in order to view personalised dashboards containing content from subscribed groups is also considered to be important. 5.1 National requirements for Growth Hub content and functions At the core of the Growth Hub are the functions required of all growth hubs nationally. These are: 5.1.1 National Business Support Helpline Tel: 0300 456 3565 The National Business Support Helpline (NBSH) is a key element of the Government’s business support provision. It provides signposting, diagnostic support and business improvement advice to pre-starts, start-ups and existing businesses to help them start and grow. The service provides national information which all businesses require and advice and signposting to local sources of help, based on information contained with the NBSH knowledge bank. 5.1.2 Government Campaigns – Business is GREAT The ‘Business is GREAT Britain’ Campaign offers information, inspiration and advice for small businesses that are ready to grow. It focuses on three key steps: planning for the longer term, employing staff and starting to export. Government is allowing partners to publish all the latest content from the campaign on their websites by embedding the RSS feed www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/feed. Campaign videos and campaign images can also be utilised in addition to campaign-related social media channels. 5.1.3 National Business Support Programmes The Growth Hub will feature information on and links to national business support programmes. These include: Business Growth Service (incorporating both GrowthAccelerator and MAS): The Business Growth Service helps those businesses who have the right level of ambition, capability and capacity to improve and grow. It brings together a broad range of expertise, so that SMEs can get the right advice and support to fulfill their growth potential. See http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/businessgrowthservice/ Growth Vouchers: A national programme to help businesses pay for strategic advice for business growth. See www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/growthvouchers Innovate UK: Provides grant funding to support research and development and innovation activities mainly through competitions, some of which are targeted at 9 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 SME businesses. Content can be optimised for local delivery. See www.innovateuk.org Intellectual Property Office: Provides services for SME businesses in relation to intellectual property. See www.ipo.gov.uk MentorsMe: Volunteer Business Mentors see www.mentorsme.co.uk National information, tools and guidance for business. See https://www.gov.uk/browse/business UK Trade and Investment (UKTI): Supports companies to export. Content can be optimised for local delivery. See www.ukti.gov.uk 5.1.4 Information and data sharing Information will be shared in order to improve the operation of the Growth Hub. Information sharing arrangements will need to facilitate the governance, management and delivery of business support services to SMES in the area. The provision of information regarding the operation of the hub will be required for governance mechanisms for the operation of the Growth Hub. The specific requirements for information and data sharing are being developed and are being informed by the other growth hubs already operating in other LEP areas. Data sharing will enable monitoring and reporting and will provide the information necessary to report effectively on the performance of the Growth Hub. It will enable the reporting of key metrics back to BIS in relation to the operation of the Growth Hub. 5.1.5 User profiling One of the major challenges for the day-to-day operation and longer-term strategic development of the Growth Hub is appropriate profiling of users and their communities. A range of data and information is potentially available to support the profiling process including that held by the business networks and businesses. However, there are clearly sensitivities about the relationships between those individuals and organisations who are the subjects of profiles, and about control and access of such profiles. The Growth Hub will offer a profiling service which supports the appropriate governance of relationship management by individuals and communities to support a range of Growth Hub-based activities. 5.2 Local requirements for Growth Hub content and functions 5.2.1 Principals of operation and execution The relationship between the NBSH and the Growth Hub will appear almost seamless. The Growth Hub will work closely with the national helpline provider (Business and Enterprise Group) to establish effective links and monitor the relationship. 10 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 The Growth Hub will facilitate effective links with the existing business support agencies in the LEP area and will ensure that the Growth Hub’s links with business and enterprise support and access to finance providers are agreed and maintained. There is also an expectation regarding responsibility for testing the utility and functionality of all elements of the digital platform prior to launch to ensure that they are fit for purpose and meet the expectations of users. Inherent in the operation of the Growth Hub is the responsibility for providing all day-to-day input that is necessary to ensure that the features operate effectively for users. The site management responsibilities will include monitoring the effectiveness of all aspects of the platform and applying solutions and / or improvements where needed. 5.2.2 Management, governance and moderation The following set of objectives and criteria is essential for the operation of the Growth Hub: It must represent a safe, fair and dependable space for encounter, discovery and transaction. Users must know who they are talking to and users can be reliably recognised by those they trust. Users know where content has come from and who is responsible for it. There is a clear point of recourse if users have a complaint or grievance. These requirements apply to both the end users of support services and to the providers of services. There are also important considerations regarding roles and responsibilities of all organisations within the Growth Hub proposed architecture. These considerations raise questions about the implied and actual distribution of rights, responsibilities and development of such responsibilities which will continue to be considered as the Growth Hub develops. 5.2.3 North East directory of business and enterprise support and sources of the search and diagnostic tool, and customer relationship management finance, Central to the Growth Hub’s functions is the directory of business and enterprise support services and sources of business finance available locally, regionally and nationally in the public, social and private sectors. Using the directory, all business advisers and intermediaries operating in the region will be able to view the local, regional and national offer in its entirety and link businesses with the right services regardless of their origin and according to an analysis of the individual business’s needs. Businesses will be able to search independently for information and contacts. Mapping of the business and enterprise support landscape has been carried out last year for the North East LEP by the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) and reported in September 2014. Through this mapping activity and developed from the data 11 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 contained in www.nea2fguide.co.uk, ownership of which has been transferred to the North East LEP, an integrated and branded directory of business and enterprise support services and sources of finance has been created. This is currently available at www.nelep.co.uk and www.nea2fguide.co.uk but will be transferred to the Growth Hub. Access to the directory of support will be enabled by an intuitive search and diagnostic facility that will allow businesses to navigate the options and locate and connect to relevant and appropriate products and services in as few steps as possible. The Growth Hub will be supported by an appropriate relationship management system (CRM) to manage, coordinate and synchronise data on Growth Hub users throughout the customer life cycle and to consolidate this information into one repository. The CRM system will enable strategic use of data to improve performance of the Growth Hub. The core CMS functions are: Customer data management Interaction tracking Workflow automation Reporting The CRM system will be fully integrated with the main North East LEP website and will have the capacity and potential to evolve. A specific online Growth Hub functionality that will be provided is a ‘Click to Connect’ function i.e. web-based communication via a specific object (e.g. button, image or text) to request an immediate (or ‘as soon as’) that connects the user customer with a contractor in real-time by email or phone call. It is the LEP’s understanding that ‘Click to Connect’ requests can be initiated on websites by hyperlinks placed in blogs, wikis, video or other internet-based object or user interfaces. 5.2.4 Online communities The Growth Hub will provide the basis for connecting, networking and collaborating between likeminded business people, connecting businesses and professionals. The Growth Hub’s digital platform will provide the foundation for a collection of business communities that are populated by businesses who are sharing knowledge and advice and doing business together. This will lever the assets and expertise of the North East business knowledge base to support business growth. It will be possible, through the Growth Hub, to put questions to the North East’s business community and for members of the business community to respond to questions posted. At the outset, online communities will include intelligence and advice on procurement opportunities in the public sector and in supply chains and for the purpose of business-tobusiness knowledge exchange, for example around business continuity planning, business resilience or productivity processes. 12 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 There are likely to be an ‘exchange and mart’ option, procurement opportunities (including links to the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO), Contracts Finder and CompeteFor) and a ‘services exchange’ giving businesses a new way of sourcing and working with service contractors including, for example, legal, design, marketing, PR, technology, innovation, accountancy, content and human resources. Through these functions, businesses will be able to submit projects to receive pitches from local or global contractors or join the business market to sell their business services. 5.2.5 A North East ‘Business Market’ The Growth Hub will also provide a North East-wide ‘business market’ for businesses to connect with each other in order to procure goods and services, collaborate on opportunities, trade or solve/resolve business issues. Opinions matter and information is essential to drive market improvements, and customers can be supported through better information to make informed and intelligent choices about the services they decide to purchase. Linked to the business market, the Growth Hub will provide functionality that encourages customers of business and enterprise support and finance services to review and rate services and products that they have received, providing customer feedback to inform prospective customers and feedback to service providers to drive service improvements. In line with good practice for such functions, the system will be appropriately moderated and governed with editorial control exercised and opportunity for recourse ensured before any review and ratings information is published. 5.2.6 Insight and ideas to inform and inspire As a minimum, the Growth Hub will feature a knowledge resource of ‘Business Bullets’ (akin to ‘how to’ guides and incorporating headline messages from business) as currently provided by Northumberland Business Services Limited (see www.nbsl.org.uk) and local case studies with advice from advocates and experts and the experience of ‘those who have done it’ from the national growth programmes. The Growth Hub could include such other features as: Video based learning Webinars Podcasts Virtual classroom/boardroom tools Online meeting spaces Web demos 5.2.7 Events diary The Growth Hub will provide a gateway to a diary of events including business-facing briefings, seminars and conferences, growth groups, networking events, roundtable debates, social get-togethers, workshops, discussion groups, taster events and training 13 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 courses - provided in the North East by partner organisations and covering key industry areas and topics that are important to growing businesses. It is not the purpose of the Growth Hub to establish and run events. Rather, the Growth Hub will provide information, collected from those organisations providing the events facilities, on events available in the North East. The BIS Events Finder API allows partners to pull selected or all of the content within the Events Finder Tool into the Growth Hub. This information can be supplemented from the LEP main website’s content. Approved organisations can be allowed to upload events help within local tools automatically. RSS feeds are also available. 5.3 Production and delivery environments The process of assembling, integrating and proving the Growth Hub facilities implies a production environment and an operational environment. The former provides the facilities for testing and evaluating new functionality prior to introduction into the delivery environment and launch to users. Since on-going evolution and enhancement is planned for the Growth Hub, a production environment will be a continuing aspect of the technical platform and its management tools. 5.4 Engaging with the business community to develop functionality The overarching driver for the Growth Hub is that it is prepared for business, led by business and developed by business. Therefore, the North East LEP and North East Growth Hub will work with businesses and partners to develop the digital platform and its functionality. Through the process of creative disruption businesses, digital develops, digital designers and representatives from business and enterprise support services will be invited to test user experience, review functionality and use, and grow, refresh and develop Growth Hub functions in response to user needs using North East-based digital innovation and expertise. Specifically, the online community and business-to-business functions must be tested by the Growth Hub’s main client groups, those being SME businesses, intermediaries and representatives from within the business and enterprise support and access to finance sector. It is expected that there will be a degree of proto-typing, piloting and testing of all initial functions prior to their launch. The North East LEP will work with and nurture the business community in the North East LEP area in order to bring digital community practice in the Growth Hub to life, to ensure that online communities are close to market needs and to generate customer insight in developing the Growth Hub’s evolution and scope. Growth Hub direct marketing activity will be procured as a separate service to the operation of the Growth Hub, with specific support being sought to plan, design and deliver a marketing campaign to launch and promote the Growth Hub to businesses and organisations across the North East LEP area and beyond. 14 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 6. Monitoring, analysis, evaluation and review 6.1 Monitoring, analysis and evaluation The North East LEP is committed to informing and expanding Growth Hub activities going forward and so customer use of the Growth Hub will be collected, analysed and evaluated to inform the development and operation of the Growth Hub in response to business need. Therefore, all traffic using the platform will be monitored. Monitoring information will include the information required for the national monitoring of local Growth Hubs. Monitoring and reporting will seek to obtain an as rich as possible set of information about platform usage within the constraints of usability and acceptability. The following information is being considered: Volume (use – number of businesses - by week and month) Trading status Customer age and gender Reason for Growth Hub use/visit Channel access Location of business (by local authority area) Industrial sector according to Standard Industrial Classification (SIC code) Size of business (by number of employees) Nature of enquiry (service type) Enquiry source Pathway of enquiry on site Click to Connect use Referrals Online community information including tagging of hot topics and common business issues Any feedback provided by users on the North East Growth Hub and its constituent functions The North East LEP is considering whether and how to develop bespoke monitoring and evaluation information which relates utilisation and impact of the Growth Hub to the strategic vision to create more and better jobs in the economy. 6.2 Future review At the national level, as part of the commitment set out in the ‘Small Business: GREAT Ambition’ publication, government undertook a review of its business support to identify services that were poorly targeted or under-performing and where there were opportunities for bringing schemes together to deliver a better, more efficient service. The review recognises the role that growth hubs have in rationalising and simplifying the business support landscape at the local level, where confusion over access and proliferation of schemes are equally significant. 15 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 Therefore, proposals will be developed for a local review of business support which will underpin the creation of a more coherent local landscape for business support, which is a core aim for growth hubs. 7. Growth Hub access and availability 7.1 Multichannel availability The Growth Hub will be designed so that it is: Available across different mobile devices Available across different channels, integrating web availability with the North East LEP’s Twitter, YouTube and Linked In accounts and in future to Growth Hub Twitter, You Tube and Linked In accounts Built around the outcome of focus groups with businesses, so that it is informed by business user behaviours, views and experiences. 8. Planning for the future operation of the Growth Hub 8.1 Resources Resources are available to cover the operation of the Growth Hub until 30 th June 2016. However, it is the LEP’s intention that the North East Growth Hub will be sustained well beyond this initial funding period. 8.2 Financial sustainability The North East LEP is looking to prepare a Business Plan for the future sustainable operation of the Growth Hub beyond March 2016, commencing to build financial viability planning into Growth Hub operation early in 2015/16. It is anticipated that the plan will outline recommendations for the development of the Growth Hub’s operations based on the first months of activity. The Business Plan will identify the sources of income and funding that could be used to cover the costs of maintaining the Growth Hub’s operation beyond March 2016. Recommendations for financial viability will be informed by a realistic assessment of the potential income that could be generated and will how the estimated operational and development costs could be covered. 9. Indicative Timetable - Milestones 9.1 Growth Hub Operation End February 2015: Contract award and commencement On-going: prototyping, testing and creative development will be undertaken in a programmed approach, reporting back to the North East LEP at fortnightly intervals during the development phase (from contract commencement) and post the expected go-live date of initial Growth Hub platform. 16 th Briefing: 19 January 2015 9.2 On-going: Business engagement and awareness raising; Creative disruption. April 2015: Availability of the agreed initial (beta version / prototype) Growth Hub digital platform. On-going: monitoring and evaluation information. 30th June 2015: An outline Business Case for future financial sustainability. Growth Hub Marketing w/c 2nd February 2015: ‘Meet the Buyer’ event End February 2015: Commence contracting March 2015: Procurement April 2015: Contract award and commencement, to run to end June 2016. Produced by the North East LEP Executive Team 20th January 2015 17
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