In Focus: Support act
Ever since reading a scuffed, secondhand copy of an Edward de Bono paperback in the 1970s, I’ve always liked his concept of lateral thinking.
With the pressure on the public purse what it is at the moment an awful lot of lateral thinking is being done by support networks in an attempt to help (particularly small) businesses to cope.
It is heartening that so much effort is being made in this regard and all sorts of options are being considered. One not-for-profit growth network manager told me this week that with the demise of the regional development agencies it is having to consider a number of new funding options including charging for events and seeking private sector sponsorship.
Similarly this week Business in the Community announced a new membership package for SMEs. Regional director David Darlaston said the new initiative has been specifically designed to address growing demand from firms looking to combine commercial success with respecting people, communities and the natural environment.
In this case it will tap into all of BITC’s expertise and contacts to offer SMEs strategic advice and support on doing business responsibly, employee development, community impact and the benefits that come from networking with some of the biggest companies in the UK.
Darlaston said: “From talking to firms all over the West Midlands it was evident that there was a huge demand for us to introduce a new SME membership package that would cater for companies with less than 250 people.”
The West Midlands has been chosen as the pilot location to launch the new membership package and founder members include Birmingham’s New World Solar and Warwickshire-based Alumet Systems (UK).
This sort of model would seem to be the future with companies having to contribute towards the provision of advice and help.
Perhaps that’s the way it should be but what is slightly more concerning is the vacuum that has appeared at the next support layer up which is to do with promoting and aiding specific sectors and thus, by extension, the wider economy.
It came out this week that industry heads at regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM)’s previous business cluster programme have pledged their commitment to the networks which have been built over the last five years.
It is unclear what shape this support will take in the future above and beyond communicating with all the West Midlands local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), local authorities and MPs to ensure the "vital network of high growth companies" is used effectively in the future.
It would be a shame if that’s all it does because Business Clusters West Midlands (WM), as it is now known, comprises businesses in 12 growth sectors and is a huge resource of information and advice.
Chairman Paul Hebblethwaite said it is "paramount to our economic success as a region" that the investment in growth sectors and the supply chain networks and relationships that have been built are recognised and used to grow the regional economy.
I couldn’t agree more. Lobbying is all well and good but it isn’t the same as real support of the kind businesses need. Some of it comes down to cash, of course, and that’s one area where the tap has, largely, been turned off.
But initiative and the ability to think laterally are still very much in evidence and if SMEs are ready to accept a different model in which they contribute towards the help they receive, there’s a chance some of these new style support bodies could have a big role to play in the months and years to come.
Any comments? Andy Coyne, Insider
