• Project Leader: Fiona Whitehurst

Through CAPTURED, we explore the ways anchor institutions, such as universities, business schools and large firms, can support regional small firms to develop leadership and entrepreneurship skills.

Research by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills has shown investment in leadership and management skills can have a particularly strong impact on performance for firms with between five and 19 employees. Our project, CAPTURED, is a new innovative programme to support small firm owners to grow their business.

The scheme is open to North East businesses with fewer than 20 employees. It aims to address issues faced by small firms who tend to under-invest in leadership and management training.

The programme works on the principle that the best advice for businesses comes from experienced people. It will give small businesses a chance to spend time developing their business with support from experienced managers of the region’s larger private sector organisations.

Find out more about CAPTURED for small businesses.

Funding and supporters

The programme has secured the support of some of the region’s leading companies such as Siemens and Sage. They will each release a number of their senior managers to act as mentors and guides to small firms.

A spokesperson for Siemens said: "Siemens is passionate about helping new businesses to reach their potential. Siemens itself started off as a small engineering business run by two brothers. Today, it's a global business with more than 400,000 employees. Anything is possible with the right support. We’re delighted to be involved with this project and hope it will help shape the business leaders of the future."

Our bid was also supported by The Federation of Small Businesses.

Businesses have traditionally found it difficult to know who to contact in universities. They are usually unaware of the various research projects and resources available to them. Conversely, engagement with SMEs tends to be seen as difficult due to their diverse nature.

CAPTURED will specifically address these needs head-on. It will build a productive collaborative environment between us and the business community. It will not only identify and strengthen the entrepreneurial culture of North East businesses but also assist in incorporating greater resilience into the sector.

This will be achieved through a greater understanding and involvement of local SMEs in supply chains, potentially increasing graduate retention and entrepreneurship through their work with those businesses.

CAPTURED has also been made possible with funding from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills UK Futures Programme which was set up by UKCES in April 2014. It aims to trial innovative ideas with industry to test what works in addressing workforce development issues restraining business performance.

Getting involved

We are looking for more large regional companies to release their managers and are keen to talk to regional firms with more than 50 employees.

Find out more about CAPTURED for large businesses.

The project team

• Fiona Whitehurst
• Leigh Sear
• Paul Richter