IWD 2021: Beyond unconscious bias training
In this blog, we explore how public sector organisations can become more inclusive employers.
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Read the latest blogs from the IGL network.
Four ways public servants can tackle inequality with experimentation
Public servants have tried to reduce inequality for decades, but it persists. By testing new ideas, gathering information on what works, and looking closely at the impact of interventions, an experimental approach can help improve equality, diversity and inclusion.
Does social entrepreneurship training work? – Only if carefully designed
Social entrepreneurship is characterised by a deep commitment to a social cause and the desire to develop new business models with economic, social, and ecological impacts. But can people be trained to become better at social entrepreneurship? HEC Paris Professors Thomas Åstebro and Florian Hoos found that social entrepreneurship training works, but only if carefully designed.
How can funders enable business support providers to experiment?
In our previous blog post, we were talking to Doug Scott, Chair of Cavendish Enterprise, about what he learned from leading a randomised trial of the Business Boost scheme, carried out under the UK Government’s Business Basics Programme. In this post, we continue our conversation with Doug, this time focusing on how funders can best manage experimentation funds and ensure that they produce learning that leads to better policy decisions.
Looking behind the scenes of a business support RCT
In a recent post, we highlighted the findings from the randomised trial of the Business Boost project, carried out by Cavendish Enterprise in collaboration with the Enterprise Research Centre. Since this was the first randomised trial to be completed under the UK Government’s Business Basics Programme, it was a learning process for the implementers, the evaluators, and for us in the Innovation Growth Lab (IGL). Together with a colleague from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, we recently chatted with Doug Scott, Chair of Cavendish Enterprise and the instigator of the Business Boost trial, to find out what he had learned during the process.
Bridging the gap between business support research and practice
Policymakers and business support organisations can use a diverse set of tools to create thriving entrepreneurship ecosystems, ranging from financial support, mentoring to business training. But how can they choose the most effective ones? Charlotte Reypens explores.
What ‘works’ for improving small business productivity?
We invite guest bloggers Stephen Roper and Halima Jibril from the ERC to discuss their Business Basics trial on what 'work's for improving small business productivity.
Encouraging entrepreneurship by graduate students: the role of proactive policies
This IGL grant funded trial looks at the effects of university led policies to encourage graduate participation in entrepreneurial activity through an RCT at the University of Bologna.
The power of the right advice for small and medium business growth in a difficult political and economic context
In this IGL funded trial, the team at Ideas Foundation look at the impact of tailored consultancy support for SMEs in Venezuela.
How to harness the benefits of the remote working revolution
A key learning from 2020 must be maximising opportunities for better, fairer work amid the ongoing shift away from offices
Spotlight: Showcasing new research on entrepreneurship, innovation and science
This blog showcases summaries of the nine papers chosen from the submissions to our call to feature the work of job market candidates, across topics such as entrepreneurship, business support, science, technology and innovation.
Spotlight: Calling all job market candidates
The academic job market for economists is different this year: interviews will be conducted online, fly-outs are likely to be virtual, and many departments have postponed their hiring altogether because of the pandemic. At the Innovation Growth Lab, we want to do our part and use our platforms to showcase job market papers related to our fields of work.