WELCOME FROM MINISTER FOR SMALL BUSINESS

“Building an entrepreneurial culture in Britain”

A strong entrepreneurial base is an essential driver of growth and prosperity in a modern economy. The government’s vision is that anybody with the talent, potential and drive to succeed in business should have the opportunity and support to do so, regardless of their background, in a culture that values and supports entrepreneurship.

A thriving and dynamic small business sector is key to economic flexibility as new businesses bring new or improved products and services to consumers, increasing competition and challenging existing businesses to improve their own performance.

Improving the growth capability of UK businesses will only be achieved by raising performance across a range of areas such as management skills, workforce development, use of innovation and adoption of best practice across different business functions.

I welcome the decision of the Institute for Small Business Affairs to embrace entrepreneurship education in addition to their well-established remit for promoting research into small business development. This combination will make the 2004 ISBA Conference a key event in the ongoing dialogue between experts in entrepreneurship and SME development and the policy-makers in the several Government Departments who now recognise the importance of the small business sector in the national economy.

I am therefore delighted to endorse this 27th ISBA National Conference and I am sure that the event will be a great success.

Nigel Griffiths MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business and Enterprise

WELCOME FROM THE NORTH EAST

The North East of England has a proud entrepreneurial heritage nurturing talented individuals such as George Stephenson, father of the railways, who had the foresight and skill to innovate and place our region at the heart of industrial progress.

One NorthEast recognises that our region needs to recapture this entrepreneurial spirit, to build a more diverse economy with a mix of new and developing businesses. Establishing an entrepreneurial culture is vital if our region is to become the economic and social success story we know that it can be.

Events such as this National Entrepreneurship and SME Development Conference hosted by the University of Teesside, signal the region's determination to support our business leaders of tomorrow. This Conference will bring top guest speakers - talented business people who have taken and overcome hard knocks on the road to success - to the North East, offering our entrepreneurs an invaluable source of practical information and inspiration to set them on the road to success.

Margaret Fay, Chairman, One NorthEast. The Regional Development Agency for the North East

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WELCOME FROM NEWCASTLE

Newcastle City Council is proud to welcome the National Entrepreneurship & SME Development Conference.

With our partner organisations we are fully committed to a long term strategy to exploit our strengths in technology and build capacity for innovation with a focus on advanced design, technical creativity and knowledge transfer.

This includes developing a network of five Regional Centres of Excellence in advanced technologies. Working with industry, they will help to progress the development and funding of new businesses, products, processes and transfer of technologies.

We are very excited about the opportunities that these developments will bring and I hope that you will have a chance to enjoy all that Newcastle has to offer. I would like to take this opportunity to officially welcome you to Newcastle and wish you an enjoyable and productive conference.

Councillor Margaret R. Carter, Lord Mayor 2003-04

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WELCOME FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEESSIDE

As Vice Chancellor of the University I most warmly welcome you to the 27th ISBA National Conference. This University is proud of its role in building a prosperous new economy in the Tees Valley through the excellence and enterprise of its students and staff. Teesside is the Opportunity University, giving its 20,000 students the chance to reach their personal potential in learning and in enterprise.

Our many network and outreach activities provide crucial knowledge for the region's communities and this Conference is a fine example of collaboration in developing the region's global networks and reputation for enabling entrepreneurship and small business development. I am delighted that the University is leading this exciting and stimulating contribution to the national capability for enterprise.

Prof Graham Henderson, Vice Chancellor, University of Teesside

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WELCOME FROM ISBA PRESIDENT

The 27th Annual Conference is a new departure. It is ISBA’s own entrepreneurial experiment ­ innovating in the product and the way it is produced. It is a celebration of diversity in the entrepreneurship and small business field. This year we welcome the very best in academic papers and the very best showcases of practice in small business support.

Entrepreneurship education now stands alongside research and policy as key areas for the Conference. ISBA’s role is to forge links between research and practice and this event will do just that. To reflect this, the title of the Conference has been changed to National Entrepreneurship and SME Development Conference.

This will be the biggest and most comprehensive community of knowledge and experience in the UK on entrepreneurship and SME development in education, policy and research. Please come and join in!

David Harvey, President of ISBA, Chief Executive of STEP, the Society of Trust & Estate Practicitioners

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WELCOME FROM CONFERENCE CHAIR

As Chair of the Conference, I extend a welcome to all of you engaged in education, policy, research and support of entrepreneurship and SME development. Entrepreneurship creates and sustains diversity, which every successful economy needs. Over the 27 years of the internationally renowned ISBA conference, we have witnessed greater diversity in society and in the contexts for enterprise. The dynamics of enterprise in diversity is what the Conference will address. The inclusive design provides many opportunities for the cross fertilisation of ideas and wisdom and facilitates networking between like-minded delegates who specialise in each part of the entrepreneurship and small business spectrum.

For participants, it will be a feast of knowledge and networks, with top guest speakers and contributions from the best quality academic research, education, professional practice and policy in nearly every area of entrepreneurship and small business. The call for papers and presentations for each specialised track in this premier Conference is on page 4. Please share your own knowledge and experience.

The event will be tremendously enjoyable with good and committed company. The location is near the wonderful Newcastle Gateshead riverside, which has the iconic Gateshead Millennium Bridge, BALTIC The Centre for Contemporary Art and The Sage Gateshead, as well as a wide range of hotels. The associated Doctoral Day seminar will be at the University of Teesside. The whole event has been achieved through networks and positive collaboration ­ exactly the kind of enterprising behaviour to lead the challenges of the future.

Prof Ted Fuller, Conference Chair, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategic Foresight Teesside Business School, University of Teesside

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