The GEN Atlas Spotlight series identifies interesting individual examples of innovative policy making. The first selection of case studies spotlighted have been chosen for their unique approaches to providing evidence of impact. GEN Atlas categorizes programs into five groups based on type of evidence provide:
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No Evidence: programs that provide no metrics to evaluate the impact of their work
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Level 1 – Participation: programs that reveal only basic information such as number of participants, program completion rates, and levels of activity
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Level 2 - Outcomes: programs that demonstrate they have hit specific goals relating to entrepreneurship such as number of course graduates going on to start a business, number of products successfully developed, number of business relocations, costs saved for startups etc.
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Level 3 – Wider Economic Impact: policymakers can cite improved economic stats that correlate to their program such as an increased investment, GVA, job creation, survival rates, business creation, increased exports etc.
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Level 4 – Direct Proof Impact: policymakers have used academic methods to demonstrate the direct impact their program has had on economic measures
London & Partners is a business growth and destination agency that serves as London's international trade, investment, and promotion agency. It can also be understood as the Mayor of London's official promotional agency. The central mission of the program is to create resilient, sustainable and inclusive economic growth by promoting London globally, attracting overseas organizations and visitors, and assisting in the growth and retention of London-based companies. It focuses in particular on high-growth sectors and the visitor economy.
The program was established in 2011 with the support of the Mayor Boris Johnson, the London Development Agency, and key private sector partners. It was designed to address three main problems facing startups:
Even in the modern era of globalized economies, government rules and national boundaries still serve as substantial barriers to both startups looking to expand overseas and international investors looking for sound projects to get behind. Policies that fall under the “Market Access” theme seek to expand access to both international and domestic markets for startups and investors alike.
Ecosystem + Economic Development
Where a founder launches their business remains one of the key factors in determining their success. Even the most innovative ideas can perish without having well-functioning support networks and institutions be easily accessible to entrepreneurs. Policymakers at all levels increasingly recognize this and are focusing significant portions of their resources towards developing and managing local ecosystem to better support entrepreneurs, startups and scale-ups.
Access to capital is one of the most significant barriers that entrepreneurs face. Early-stage companies with great concepts routinely fail if they are unable to source an injection of cash that allows them to develop their product to the point of revenue generation. Crucially, startups are likely to find it difficult to borrow from traditional lenders as they lack the assets required to secure a loan and do not have a proven record they can demonstrate to banks.
London & Partners seeks to address this using three main policy mechanisms:
London & Partners helps local businesses to promote their products and services to an international audience by showcasing them at events and exhibitions around the world. Additionally, they provide expert advice and guidance on navigating international markets and identifying potential partners and customers. This aspect of the program addresses the issue of market access and is intended to scale the growth of local companies by facilitating their expansion into markets previously outside of their reach.
London & Partners run the Business Growth Program which provides free assistance and support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs can access a dedicated business growth adviser, expert mentoring, training workshops and networking opportunities with potential partners and suppliers through the program. Through this program London & Partners seeks to improve the level of support available to high potential startups in the London ecosystem which it continues to offer even once the companies have officially completed the Business Growth Program.
Finally, London & Partners also provides a range of support services to foreign businesses and investors looking to invest in London. They offer information and advice on the city's business environment, including its regulatory landscape, tax system, and labor market. The ultimate goal of this is to increase the overall level of investment in London based startups and scale-ups.
Impact Level 4: direct proof of impact
The latest review of London & Partners activity between 2011 and 2012 reveals the program to be a huge success. With an annual budget of just £12 million per year, the program as added £2.7 billion to the London Economy and created or supported 75,600 jobs. In addition to this, the latest quarterly report demonstrates the successful impact of their foreign investment strategy having secured £54 million in foreign direct investment in Q2 of 2022/23.
This program achieves the GEN impact rating of level 4 as it can demonstrate the impact of their programs using measures such as GVA, jobs retained, jobs created, additional leisure tourists, and additional sales made by SMEs. They have published the full details of the methodology used to evaluate their programs here. In short, their evaluation captures only the additional benefits that arise from their programs and excludes benefits that would have occurred regardless of their intervention. To further track their progress, they publish annual review and quarterly reports.
This level of impact assessment is exemplary and should serve as a role model for other policy makers around the world. Using a rigorous and independent methodology, the program clearly exhibits value for money and substantial progress towards their stated goals of securing investment and growth for London-based companies. As a result, policy makers in similar jurisdictions can be confident that this a policy approach that is worth at least further consideration.
Read the full Atlas case study.