Business Support Evaluation

Scottish Enterprise: Review of Unlocking Ambition 1 and evaluation of UA2

Because of our work Scottish Enterprise understood the progress that UA1 companies had made since the programme of support ended.  In addition, Scottish Enterprise better understand the contribution of this flagship UA2 programme and the contributing or inhibiting factors and any potential improvements.  As well as informing the design of session delivery for UA3 this report contributed to future iterations of Unlocking Ambition.

The Unlocking Ambition programme plays a key role in the development of an entrepreneurial culture across Scotland.  The £4m Unlocking Ambition 1 programme was funded by the Scottish Government and managed and delivered by Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).  40 companies received access to masterclasses, Scottish Enterprise or RSE advisory support and international journey opportunities.  21 were also eligible for £25k of grant funding.    The follow-up UA2 £1.6m programme supported another 40 companies who had access to the Unlocking Ambition Development Fund, business support and a programme of world-class executive education.   

Stage 1

For UA1 we surveyed all supported companies and 83% of companies responded.  We compared baseline data to their reported survey data and we interviewed 20 companies.  We saw that turnover, investment and resilience had increased.  £1.6m of investment was attributed to UA involvement. 

Stage 2

We focused on UA2, delivered as Scottish Enterprise’ first virtual accelerator.  We assessed the results of an online survey of all 39 companies.  We also interviewed 10 company contacts and four key stakeholders by phone to gain more in-depth feedback.  The entrepreneurs were linked with established and accomplished business-people to learn, make connections and explore new opportunities. All the UA2 companies accessed a £25,000 UA Development Grant to support growth projects and 10 of the companies were competitively awarded a further £20k impact award.

A key benefit we identified is that UA2 is creating jobs and raising the profile of Scotland’s green economy focus. Company data indicates that, so far, £952,234 can be attributed to the companies’ involvement in the UA programme. Most (34) of the companies reported they are somewhat or significantly more resilient as a result of their UA participation. 35 companies would like to be invited to join an Unlocking Ambition Community Network.

Results

Scottish Enterprise can report back to the Scottish Government on the impact of the programme.   UA3 is already underway – so, as well as informing the design of session delivery for UA3 our report will contribute to future iterations of UA.