Experiences of action leaning in two SME business support programmes

Abstract

Action learning sets are used by Lancaster University Management School's Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development to provide business support to owner managers of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper compares the experiences of participants and facilitator of two programmes: one part of a wider programme of business support, the other a standalone programme of action learning. The paper describes the format of the sets and looks at the benefits to participants. It examines some of the outcomes for the participants and the learning gained by the facilitator. It concludes with some reflections from the facilitator on his experiences and on the appropriateness of action learning sets for SME owner managers.

Keywords:

• SMEs
• owner-managers
• HEIs
• business support

Notes

The evaluation of LEAD took two forms – a qualitative study undertaken by Lancaster University (available at http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk:80/files/evaluation.pdf) and a quantitative study conducted by Newcastle University.

The success of the programme has led to the Northwest Development Agency rolling LEAD out across the region and engaging 13 providers – HEIs, FE colleges and private training companies – to deliver the programme to a total of 1250 SMEs between July 2009 and July 2011. As they are an integral part of the programme, all 1250 owner managers will take part in action learning sets.

In the case of this particular set an individual asked to change sets. Whilst this was agreed in principle with the members of the new set, when it came to his actually joining the existing set members decided it could disrupt the trust they had established. Ultimately the individual remained in his initial set and took what he could from the experience. Fortunately he was able to join one of the new sets established as part of the stand-alone programme and had a much better experience from his time with that set.

Some of the participants in the standalone programme had taken part in the LEAD programme but had not continued with their sets. Whilst having prior experience of action learning, they did not know their fellow set members.