Evaluation Report
The evaluation considered projects that were undertaken in the following Objective 1 areas:
Projects which were all undertaken with Small to Medium Sized Enterprises - SME's, ranged from a value of £30,875 to £580 with the average value of projects undertaken at £6,683.
SME beneficiary feedback
Usefulness of Support
68% of the SMEs rated the usefulness of the support they received as excellent. A further 18% rated it as very good. This was a significant evaluation outcome and shows a very high level of client satisfaction with the content of the support received by HELP Wales.
Relevance of Support to needs
A further significant outcome was that a total of 86% of the SMEs felt that the relevance of the support they received was very good or excellent.
The Consultant and Quality of the Support
78% of the SMEs rated the consultant and the quality of the support as very good or excellent.
Value for Money
79% gave the project a very good or excellent rating. Given that the SMEs had made a 50 per cent contribution to the cost of the project, this was a key measure of satisfaction for the project.
SME Outputs
Turnover
59% of the respondents said that the HELP Wales support received had resulted in increased turnover for the business.
Jobs
59% of respondents stated that the HELP Wales support had resulted in new and safeguarded jobs.
New Products
55% of respondents said that the HELP Wales project had resulted in new products being created. Some projects developed more than one product so on average HELP Wales generated one product for each company participating in the programme. Increased R&D Investment 31% of the SME's spoken to confirmed that increased investment in R&D had happened as a result of their HELP 2 Wales project with the average spend on R&D going up by £68,700 per company.
Academic Sector Participants
Personal / Professional Development
The majority of the participating academics felt that the HELP Wales project had contributed to their personal / professional development in a very good or excellent way.
Experience of working with an SME & Relevance of Work
All academics questioned said that they had very much enjoyed working with their respective companies and that their work complemented the needs of the SME's.
Programme Management
Most academics questioned gave this aspect of the project a maximum 'excellent' rating.This was extremely rewarding for the University of Glamorgan who have invested significantly in the management of both phases of HELP Wales, both in terms of time and resources.
Strategic, Referral & Business Support Partners
Relevance and usefulness of support
The main perception of stakeholders was that the support was relevant and useful to SME's in Wales. A key added value aspect was the ability to offer support on a wider platform than purely manufacturing and technology transfer. The project's ability to offer market research and exploration support was noted in particular as a valuable service to micro and SME businesses, widening their understanding of the commercial benefits of such feasibility work.
The HEI / SME inter-relationship in Wales
Stakeholders interviewed were very positive about the contribution HELP Wales made in developing the relationship between HEIs and SMEs in Wales. Some felt that the project was very innovative and 'ahead of its time'. Others acknowledged that HELP Wales had contributed to making substantial strides in generating a more collaborative approach amongst HEIs and their academic staff. Positive gains were noted in the substantial challenge of making a cultural shift in the way SMEs perceive investment in R&D. This is viewed by many as a long term process and one which needs continued attention and investment across Wales.
<< Back
|
