Past Programmes: UK Shared Prosperity Fund
Growth consultancy and knowledge transfer for impactful South London businesses
Throughout 2024, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund offered growth support and knowledge transfer to underserved communities across the country – and Sussex Innovation was responsible for delivering the programme across South London. We elected to focus not just on underserved communities, but under-represented leadership teams and businesses delivering social impact.
The programme supported 20 small businesses and charities by introducing a range of innovative models and strategies designed to foster growth and scalability. The consultancy was delivered by the Sussex Innovation team, as well as select University of Sussex researchers who were introduced to organisations with specific challenges to address.
Key components of the programme included:
- Deep Dives for organisations with more than 25 staff to help answer complex questions, identify the root cause of issues, and develop long-term plans.
- Growth Consultancy for smaller organisations and sole traders to address a specific, time-sensitive goal, such as gathering data, testing a new approach, or implementing new systems and processes.
THE IMPACT:
- 32 scale and charities in South London supported with access to growth consultancy and academic research
- Supported under-represented leadership groups including 12 female founders, 9 BAME founders and 4 founders with disability
- 11 participants launched new-to-market products, 8 reported increased productivity and 14 adopted new or improved processes following the programme
Massive thanks for the session today on messaging, building off the competitor analysis. I loved the process you took me through… you’ve helped me to get much clearer on many things I was struggling with. The best part was when I was talking out loud and saying things I’d never even realised before, just because I wasn’t asking myself the right questions and you were.
