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