This year, as part of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills’ Futures Programme, Newcastle University Business School and SFEDI have joined forces on a project called Captured. This innovative pilot programme is designed to support the development of micro and small businesses across the North East of England by connecting them with the managers of larger businesses in the region.

Since January this year, Fiona Whitehurst and Paul Richter (from Newcastle University Business School) and Leigh Sear (from SFEDI) have been working collaboratively on Captured, which aims to connect the owner-managers of micro and small businesses with experienced managers from large enterprises in the North East region. In so doing, the project will provide space for micro and small businesses to reflect on their business development plans, connect with managers from larger businesses and develop skills in order to put plans into practice.

Up to 64 micro and small business owner-managers will take part in Captured. Representing a broad cross section of industries, the small businesses attend three half-day workshops over a two-month period. The first workshop offers them the chance to connect and explore their current position with other small business owner-managers. They are then paired with a manager from a large business and spend the second and third workshops working through the plans for the business and strategies for putting the plans into practice. The large firm managers act primarily as mentors, providing a sounding board for owner-managers’ business plans and signposting them to relevant resources.

As well as offering small businesses the chance to reflect on their needs and the challenges / opportunities ahead, Captured also enables them to develop concrete plans, transforming ideas into actions. The managers from the larger businesses have the opportunity to connect with interesting new contacts, reflect on their own professional development and contribute to the development of small businesses in the region.

Sage, the North East’s only FTSE 100 company supports Captured, as does Siemens, which is Europe’s largest engineering company and a major regional employer. 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 ran by two brothers and today it’s a global business with over 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.”

Captured is also providing an opportunity to research how major regional enterprise or ‘anchor’ institutions such as Newcastle University Business School can most effectively support the development of small firms’ management and leadership skills. The study places its findings within the context of current debates around English universities’ relationship to local and regional development. Leigh Sear said:

“Captured is an innovative response to a number of recent surveys that highlight the learning and skills challenge facing micro businesses looking to develop in the near-term. We are providing a neutral space for owner-managers from micro-businesses to reflect on their plans and connecting them with others to extend their management team. Hopefully this will assist the participating businesses in bringing forward robust plans for future development and growth.”

If you’d like to find out more about Captured, contact Leigh Sear, Chief Executive of SFEDI Solutions ([email protected]) or Fiona Whitehurst, Newcastle University Business School ([email protected]).