Introduction
Paisley Enterprise Research Centre
Director, Professor David Deakins
Paisley Enterprise Research Centre (PERC) is one of two international research centres in the Business School . PERC was established in 1995 by the current Director, Professor David Deakins, who holds a Chair in Enterprise Development. PERC was established in partnership with funding from Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire (SER). The Centre has established a reputation for high quality, policy-relevant applied research. For example, in 2002 PERC staff were responsible for the completion of national research reports for the British Bankers' Association, on the Finance and Support of Ethnic Minority Businesses in the UK , and for the Scottish Executive on a National Centre for Women's Enterprise (NCWE). In 2005 a national scoping study was completed for the Scottish Executive on minority ethnic enterprise in Scotland.
PERC has completed commissioned research for number of Local Enterprise Companies, Local Authorities and Government Departments, such as the Scottish Executive and the DTI. These reports have influenced the development of enterprise policy. For example, the NCWE Report for the Scottish Executive recommended the establishment of a new National Unit for Women's Enterprise (NUWE) for Scotland , which was launched by the Enterprise Networks in March 2003. Since then PERC has been commissioned by Scottish Enterprise to complete further research on women's enterprise.
In academia, the research programme of PERC underpins new advances in enterpreneurship as an academic discipline. For example, staff at PERC have led new developments in entrepreneurial and small firm learning through the development of qualitative, case-based research. Professor David Deakins completed a research project commissioned by the Scottish Executive and the Hunter Foundation, to evaluate a leadership programme with Scotland 's Head Teachers, the Columba 1400 initiative, which was part of the Determined to Succeed enterprise education policy.
PERC's research team are currently engaged in research projects concerned with entrepreneurial informal venture finance, entrepreneurial case development, rural enterprise and minority ethnic enterprises.
Geoff Whittam and Stuart Paul lead a research group concerned with a research programme on entrepreneurial informal venture capital. They have completed a survey of business angels for LINC Scotland and have developed a research agenda using both quantitative and qualitative research methods in informal entrepreneurial finance. The entrepreneurial finance research team are engaged in a collaborative international research project on business angels with Regensberg University in Germany .
As part of PERC, the Crichton Centre for Rural Enterprise, based at the Crichton University Campus, was established in 2002 and focuses on rural enterprise. Supported by funding from Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway, the Centre includes a full time research student and tutor, Carole Naylor. The Centre has quickly developed a research agenda, involve staff at the Crichton Campus, in rural enterprise. Staff involved will join a joint ERDF-funded programme on regional rural economic development with the University of Glasgow from June 2006.
PERC supports an annual conference in Rural Entrepreneurship, now in its 5th successful year, the next conference is planned to be held in Lincoln, sponsored by the Commission for Rural Communities, in January 2007.
Collaboration
New research projects are being developed through collaboration with staff at the Centre for Contemporary European Studies (CCES). For example, Geoff Whittam is collaborating with Professor Mike Danson and Ewa Helinska-Hughes and projects related to SMEs in Eastern Europe .
Current PERC staff and their associated research programmes are given below, please contact them for further details and information on the separate research programmes.