Published 29 January 2019

Published 29 January 2019

Technology projects and pilots across the country – including digital dairy farming, artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and cloud computing technology – are among those to benefit from a new fund to boost the productivity of UK small businesses, Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst confirmed today (29 January 2019).

A total of 15 projects from all parts of the UK have won a share of £2 million from the first round of funding from the Business Basics Fund. Among the winning bidders are cutting-edge collaborations between businesses and groups including the Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD), Enterprise Nation, Universities, Cavendish Enterprise, government-backed Growth Hubs and local authorities.

Among the projects to receive funding for their innovations are:

• Cavendish Enterprise, a national business support provider, who will test an innovative management development programme for micro-enterprises
• London-based Enterprise Nation will test ways to encourage SMEs to adopt digital technologies such as cloud computing
• Greater London Authority, CognitionX, Capital Enterprise, and the London School of Economics will be working together boost adoption of AI technologies like chatbots for the retail and hospitality sector. Chatbots can help bridge the gap between online and offline experiences
• Locality, a London-based charity that supports local community organisations will pilot a scheme to increase the adoption of cloud-based accounting packages by community sector Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
• Devon County Council will complete a research project to help rural micro businesses adopt modern business practices
• Food Forward and the University of Surrey are developing an online tool for SMEs in the dairy sector to find proven technologies that can accelerate their production and boost productivity
• Cass Business School (City) in partnership with the University of Oxford, Bocconi University, London Growth Hub and Cavendish Enterprise will deliver a cutting-edge, completely free of charge, business support programme to hundreds of UK micro businesses focused on systematic decision making
• the Skills & Growth Company will pilot the delivery of ‘Learning Journeys’, in partnership with Siemens and RedEye, to help SMEs in Cheshire benefit from their expertise in using digital technology
• the Business Clinic at Northumbria University which is an education scheme whereby a group of business students participate in a ‘consultancy firm’ to provide free advice for clients

Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said:  

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and as part of our modern Industrial Strategy, we are supporting them with new investments to boost their productivity and ensure they can continue to thrive in the future.

Today’s investment will support innovative projects that test how government and private sector companies can help small businesses adopt a range of technologies and management practices that save them time and make them more efficient.

A second funding competition has launched with £2 million available to businesses, academia and local authorities for new projects focused on testing ways of rolling out existing productivity-boosting technology and management practices to businesses.

The Fund, which forms part of the government’s plan to boost UK national productivity through its modern Industrial Strategy, is delivered in partnership with Innovate UK and Nesta.

Research from the CBI suggests that by encouraging more businesses to take advantage of existing technologies, management practices and business support– such as cloud computing, mobile technology and e-purchasing – the UK economy could receive a £100 billion boost and see a 5% reduction in income inequality.

Dr Ian Campbell, Executive Chair of Innovate UK, said:

Trying something new is a big step for any business, but true innovation enables firms grow. To solve the UK’s productivity puzzle, we need more firms to adopt new, but proven, technologies and novel ways of doing things so they can get ahead of the competition.

That’s exactly what the Industrial Strategy, through the business basics scheme, is helping these projects to achieve.

Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive of innovation foundation Nesta, said:

The Business Basics Fund signals a welcome commitment by government to applying experimental methods to boosting economic productivity.

It is vitally important that we gather evidence about the effectiveness, or otherwise, of the billions of pounds that are spent by governments around the world, currently with not enough hard evidence about what works.

The government has also published the Business Support Evaluation Framework. The new Framework will set out the quality standards that are expected for evaluations of BEIS-funded business support programmes and will enable the effectiveness of different policies and programmes to be compared.

The framework is designed to assist policy makers, evaluators and delivery bodies in generating robust evidence of what works, so BEIS can make better informed decisions of current and future policies.  

Government is committed to investing, through its modern Industrial Strategy, in science and research to keep the UK at the forefront of new technologies and the benefits they bring.

The Industrial Strategy is also helping us nurture and upskill people to do the jobs of the future, through increased investment in technical education and a national retraining scheme.

HeadsUp! Boosting performance amongst micro firms through take-up of digital technologies

Parties: Enterprise Nation, Brunel University London

Location: Lancashire, Birmingham, Oxfordshire and London

Background: A new project that will test how best to encourage SMEs to adopt digital technologies (ie cloud computing, E-commerce transactions, Customer Relationship Management and accounting software, Human Resources management systems).

Artificial Intelligence in London’s hospitality and retail SME sector

Parties: The Greater London Authority, London School of Economics (Centre for Economic Performance), two small businesses (CognitionX and Capital Enterprise), the London Growth Hub

Location: London

Background: A pilot that will test the effectiveness of different mechanisms to encourage the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as chatbots in the retail and hospitality sectors.

People Skills+: An innovative management and leadership approach to boosting SME productivity

Parties: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Ltd, The Behaviouralist (academia), Birmingham Chamber of Commerce

Location: Greater Birmingham and the Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area.

Background: Project focused on building skills and capabilities of owner/managers of hard to reach SMEs by investing in people management practices through the use of an online diagnostic tool and independent local advice.

A Scientific Approach to SME Productivity

Parties: City University London, University of Oxford (Said Business School), Cavendish Consortium, Bocconi University (ICRIOS) and the Greater London Authority/London Growth Hub

Location: Greater London and surrounding areas

Background: Building on trials carried out in Italy, this project will look to measure the effectiveness of applying a scientific approach to decision making to enable SMEs in England to make more effective strategic decisions.

Cavendish Micro-Business Productivity Boost Project

Parties: Cavendish Consortium Ltd, University of Warwick (Enterprise Research Centre) and OMB Research

Location: England-wide

Background: A project to establish if early stage micro businesses that are both willing and able to increase productivity can be identified, and which interventions are most effective in encouraging them to adopt productivity enhancing business practices at the early stages.

Local Productivity Club

Parties: Anglia Business Growth Consultants Limited, College of West Anglia and the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk

Location: Borough of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk

Background: This project aims to demonstrate that forming a structured club of small low productivity companies all from the same local area together with support can deliver significant productivity gains within 4 months.

Testing data-led targeting of low and mid productivity firms to increase awareness of performance and support

Parties: West Yorkshire Combined Authority / Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership

Location: SMEs in the Leeds area.

Background: This project will look at how tailored, targeted messages can encourage businesses to address their low productivity (i.e. behavioural nudges) and how this knowledge impacts on subsequent behaviour.

Productivity in professional services, by inspiring employees to step forward

Parties: The Career Innovation Company Limited, Institute of Employment Studies

Location: South West

Background: This project will test the impact of an existing online programme aimed at individuals which will be adapted to be relevant to employees of SMEs in professional services.

Nudging SMEs towards greater productivity

Parties: Tier 2.0 Future Limited, Tax Optimiser Ltd

Location: Smaller cities in England

Background: Led by a social enterprise and working with a software development company (which is an SME), this project will test how different (predominately) online messaging affects what SMEs do.

Engaging Rural Micros for increased productivity

Parties: Devon County Council

Location: South West

Background: A project to test the theory that rural micro businesses need support at a basic level to adopt modern business practices

ADAPT

Parties: Skills and Growth Company

Location: North West

Background: This project will pilot a new way of encouraging up to 30 high growth potential SMEs in the Northwest in adopting two types of existing digital automation practices and Industrial Digitisation Technologies (IDT)

Parties: Locality, Howard Neal Ltd

Background: This charity will pilot a process of facilitated support e.g. peer support from early adopters to increase the adoption of cloud-based accounting packages by community sector SMEs.

Digitally Enabled Business Clinic – a cost-effective means of universities supporting SMEs to increase their productivity

Parties: Northumbria University

Location: Northumbria

Background: A project to explore the effectiveness of a Digitally Enabled Business Clinic (DEBC) to enable SMEs to access free advice from supervised university business school students, for example including digital marketing, finance, strategic advice through digital media and tools etc, removing the need for costly physical infrastructure.

Technology foresight for growth and productivity: the design and implementation of a new foresight approach for UK SMEs

Parties: Kingston University

Location: London area

Background: This research project will produce three main outputs. The first is a foresight methodology that is effective, scalable and easy to use by UK SMEs, especially those operating in clusters, for identifying and developing emerging technologies. The second is a list of critical technologies specifically aimed at improving the productivity of Digital Health SMEs. The third will be a list of key actions enabling these same firms to adopt these technologies and ultimately to enhance their productivity and growth.

Resource Productivity in the $20 billion Dairy Manufacturing Sector

Parties: Food Forward, University of Surrey

Background: To develop and test an online diagnosis tool to enable SMEs in the dairy sector to easily evaluate the case for investment in proven technologies that improve resource productivity.

Adult training is often only available for workers who are already highly paid or highly skilled, a new report from the Social Mobility Commission reveals today (29 January 2018).

The Adult Skills Gap report shows that the poorest adults with the lowest qualifications are the least likely to access adult training – despite being the group who would benefit most. Men in routine and manual occupations are the least likely to learn new skills.

About 30% of those employed in managerial and professional occupations participated in training in the last 3 months compared to 18% in routine and manual jobs. This follows earlier research showing that half (49%) of adults from the lowest socio-economic group receive no training at all after leaving school.

In contrast, high-skilled workers tend to benefit from ‘a virtuous circle’ of frequent in-work training and pay increases, says the research carried out by the Institute for Employment Research, Warwick University. Professional or managerial workers are twice as likely to be sent on courses as other workers, while graduates are 3 times as likely to access training as those with no qualifications.

An individual’s background also has an impact. Workers whose parents came from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to benefit from adult training – which can impact on social mobility. Employees from more privileged backgrounds are more likely than other low-skilled workers to take advantage of in-work learning to rise up the ranks.

Dame Martina Milburn, Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, said:

Too many employers are wasting the potential of their employees by not offering training or progression routes to their low and mid-skilled workers.

Both employers and the government need to act to address this problem. They should start by increasing their investment in training, to bring it closer to that of international competitors, and prioritise this to those with low or no skills. Doing this would benefit both business and the economy as a whole.

The commission has previously found that 1 in 4 of the UK’s low-paid workers will never escape low pay – a problem due largely to low skill levels. Yet the UK lags behind other countries in giving adults a second chance to learn new skills and achieve their potential. The UK spends just two-thirds of the European average on adult training, and investment is in decline. Between 2010 to 2011, and 2015 to 2016 government funding for adult skills fell by 34% in real terms.

The problem is that employers fund 82% of all UK training and tend to prioritise senior, high-skilled employees. Most other training is paid for by individuals themselves – if they can afford it. Free courses run by government make up just 3% of all accessed training courses.

The result is a system with vast numbers of low-skilled workers with little opportunity to build skills and escape low pay. This urgently needs rebalancing – for productivity as much as social mobility, says the commission.

Alastair Da Costa, chair of Capital City College Group and a SMC Commissioner, said:

A lack of ongoing training for low-paid workers is a contributing factor for millions to a lifetime of poorly-paid work. As we prepare to leave the EU, it is more important than ever for us to build relevant skills to improve the UK’s productivity. That is why we want to see more investment in life-long learning and adult education – including enabling more courses to be available for those who cannot afford them.

Dr Daria Luchinskaya, from the Institute for Employment Research, Warwick University, said:

This report shows a ‘virtuous’ and a ‘vicious’ cycle of learning, whereby those with low or no qualifications are much less likely to access education and training after leaving school than those with high qualifications.

Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said:

These findings should act as a wake-up call for employers to look a lot harder at how they are developing their workforce for the future. Building skills at all levels and roles is essential to improving productivity and performance, for engagement and retention of employees, and to highlight and support progression opportunities. However, many of these are longer term outcomes and too often the focus for training is on short term job needs.

Main findings include:

• the poorest adults with the lowest qualifications are the least likely to access adult training – despite being the group who would benefit most
• previous research has shown that half (49%) of adults from the lowest socio- economic group receive no training at all after leaving school, compared to 20% from the top group
• this study shows similar findings hold for employed adults participating in training in the last 3 months – 30% of those in professional and managerial jobs against 18% in routine and manual occupations
• graduates are 3 times more likely to receive training than those with no qualifications, while professionals and managers are about twice as likely to receive training as lower-skilled workers
• employers fund 82% of training – prioritising those in senior or professional roles – while most other training is paid for by individuals themselves
• overall investment in adult skills from employer, government and individuals was around £44 billion in 2013 to 2014 – government funds just 7% of this training
• government-funded training aims to support those without the means to pay for their own training and does reach lower-skilled workers and those in deprived areas but 29% of this money still goes to adults in the most affluent 40% of areas
• the UK spends two-thirds of the EU average on adult training
• government funding for the Adult Skills Budget fell by £830 million (cash terms) between 2010 to 2011 and from £2.84 billion to £2.01 billion, equivalent to a 34% fall (real terms) between 2015 to 2016

The Social Mobility Commission is an advisory non-departmental public body established under the Life Chances Act 2010 as modified by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. It has a duty to assess progress in improving social mobility in the UK and to promote social mobility in England. It consists of 13 commissioners and is supported by a small secretariat.

The commission board is chaired by Dame Martina Milburn and comprises:

• Alastair da Costa, Chair of Capital City College Group
• Farrah Storr, Editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan
• Harvey Matthewson, Aviation Activity Officer at Aerobility and Volunteer
• Jessica Oghenegweke, Project co-ordinator at the Diana Award
• Jody Walker, Senior Vice President at TJX Europe (TK Maxx and Home Sense in the UK)
• Liz Williams, Group Director of Digital Society at BT
• Pippa Dunn, Founder of Broody, helping entrepreneurs and start ups
• Saeed Atcha, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Xplode magazine
• Sam Friedman, Associate Professor in Sociology at London School of Economics
• Sammy Wright, Vice Principal of Southmoor Academy, Sunderland
• Sandra Wallace, Joint Managing Director Europe at DLA Piper
• Steven Cooper, Chief Executive Officer C.Hoare & Co

The functions of the commission include:

• monitoring progress on improving social mobility
• providing published advice to ministers on matters relating to social mobility
• understaking social mobility advocacy

UK businesses benefitting from Horizon 2020 research funding are urged to register their details with the government so they can continue to receive funding if the UK leaves the EU with no deal, Science Minister Chris Skidmore said today.

The government’s online portal was launched in September 2018 after the government announced it would guarantee all successful UK funding bids submitted by public and private organisations before Brexit, including the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme.

To date, there have been around 5,500 registrations to the portal out of a potential 8,200. Around 4,500 are from higher education institutions and around 1,000 registrations from businesses, research organisations, public bodies and charities.

Science and Innovation Minister Chris Skidmore said:

We have guaranteed that UK organisations and businesses who receive EU science and research funding will continue to do so even if we leave the EU without a deal at the end of March.

I want to ensure researchers and innovators have the confidence to push on with their great work, which is why I urge businesses to register their details on this simple online portal for Horizon 2020 grants. It takes just 10 minutes per grant for the data to be inputted and more than 5,500 registrations have already been received.

The online portal, managed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the first step towards supporting the continuity of funding for UK organisations which have been awarded grants.

It asks recipients to input basic information so UK researchers and businesses can be informed of next steps if the government needs to underwrite Horizon 2020 funding.

Operations Director at UKRI, Anne Dixon, said:

I’d like to thank everyone who has already taken the time to register their information on UKRI’s portal or submit multiple grants using our template. We have had contact from most universities and in particular now, we look forward to hearing from more businesses and other organisations with UK Horizon 2020 grants. We would welcome the research and innovation community’s support in spreading the word to other partners to help us ensure we reach everyone who is in receipt of a grant.

The government’s guarantee will cover all successful Horizon 2020 bids by UK participants before the UK exits the EU, for the full duration of the projects. Horizon 2020 is the EU’s biggest research and innovation programme, financially supporting researchers and businesses in EU member states to take their innovations and discoveries to market.

Science and innovation are at the heart of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, with the ambition to increase the amount the UK invests in research and development to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

To register you need to:

• access the portal
• enter details of the type of organisation: business; research; research and technology organisation; or public sector, charity or non Je-S registered research organisation
• enter contact details
• enter funding details, including grant agreement number and participant identification code
• once submitted, applicants will receive an email from the UKRI grants team confirming registration to the portal and afterwards will automatically receive subsequent updates. For organisations in receipt of multiple grants, a spreadsheet is available to submit them in bulk. Please email: EUGrantsFunding@ukri.org.

Notes to editors

1. The government announced in August 2016 that it would underwrite UK funds for all EU-funded projects successfully bid for while the UK is a still a member of the EU.
2. In August 2018 it was announced that UKRI would deliver the underwrite if it needs to come into effect. The Horizon 2020 Technical Notice is available here.
3. In September 2018 UKRI launched a portal to capture basic information from grant recipients, together with this Q and A about the portal (PDF, 208KB)
4. The underwrite guarantee also applies to all ‘competitively bid for’ nuclear research grants from the Euratom Research and Training programme and recipients will be able to use the same UKRI portal to register under the guarantee.

Facts and figures

Some fact and figures about Horizon 2020 are:

• the UK is a top 5 collaboration partner for all other EU countries under Horizon 2020
• at end of September 2018, the UK had the second highest number of project participations in Horizon 2020 – over 10,200
• UK businesses have around 2,700 Horizon 2020 project participations (€982 million).
• the UK has secured around €5.1 billion funding to date (14.3% of the total, second only to Germany)
• the UK accounts for: 4.1% of the world’s researchers, 10.7% of all citations, 15.2% of the world’s most highly-cited articles, 3 of the world’s top 10 universities
• the UK receives around €70 million per year direct funding from the Euratom R&T programme