Policy makers and others charged with driving economic growth often assume a link between entrepreneurship education and business start-up. However, there is little by way of supporting literature in this regard, with few studies exploring impact measures that relate to actual venture creation. This paper considers two routinely collected data sets in the UK that directly relate to graduate self-employment and business start-up over a five-year period – the Higher Education– Business and Community Interaction survey (HE–BCI), and the survey of Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education (DLHE) – and explores whether the data can be used to assess impact. There is some evidence that HE–BCI may be affected by changes in data collection requirements, but it remains the most complete, extensive and useful longitudinal data set on graduate business start-up. DHLE would appear to be the best source of data for measuring the impact of both enterprise education and start-up support initiatives at an institutional level.
BERR (2008), Enterprise: Unlocking the UK's Talent, Department for Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform, London.
2.
BIS (2010), A Strategy for Sustainable Growth, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, London.
3.
BIS (2013), Enterprise education Impact in Higher Education and Further Education, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, London.
4.
DavisJ.HidesM.PowellJ. (2002), ‘Defining the development needs of entrepreneurs in SMEs’, Education + Training, Vol 44, No 8/9, pp 406–412.
5.
DearingR. (1997), Higher Education in the Learning Society, Report of the National Committee of Enquiry into Higher Education, HMSO, London.
6.
European Commission (2006), Implementing the Community Lisbon Programme: Fostering Entrepreneurial Mindsets Through Education and Learning, European Commission, Brussels.
7.
European Commission (2008), Entrepreneurship in Higher Education, Especially in Non-Business Studies: Report of the Expert Group, European Commission, Brussels.
8.
European Commission (2012), Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan: Reigniting the Entrepreneurial Spirit in Europe, European Commission, Brussels.
9.
FayolleA. (2013), ‘Personal views on the future of entrepreneurship education’, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Vol 25, No 7–8, pp 692–701.
10.
FayolleA.GaillyB.Lassas-ClercN. (2006), ‘Assessing the impact of entrepreneurship education programmes: A new methodology’, Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol 30, No 9, pp 701–720.
11.
HannonP.ShoreA. (2013), ‘2012 mapping of enterprise and entrepreneurship in higher education: 2012 survey findings’, Proceedings of the 2013 ISBE National Conference, 12–13 November, Cardiff, ISBE, London.
12.
HEFCE (2011), Higher Education Innovation Funding 2011–12 to 2014–15: Policy, Final Allocations and Request for Institutional Strategies, Higher Education Funding Council for England, Bristol.
13.
HEFCE (2013), Higher Education–Business and Community Interaction Survey 2011–12, Higher Education Funding Council for England, Bristol.
14.
HEFCE (2014), Higher Education–Business and Community Interaction Survey 2012–13, Higher Education Funding Council for England, Bristol.
15.
HEFCE (2015), Briefing: Higher Education–Business and Community Interaction Survey (HE–BCI), Higher Education Funding Council for England, Bristol, http://www.hefce.ac.uk/kess/hebci/ (accessed 10 July 2015).
16.
HenryC.HillF.M.LeitchC.M. (2004), ‘The effectiveness of training for new business creation: A longitudinal study’, International Small Business Journal, Vol 22, No 3, pp 249–271.
17.
HESA (2012), ‘Destinations of leavers from higher education institutions 2010/11’, Press Release No 180, Higher Education Statistics Agency, Cheltenham, https://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2541/1/ (accessed 10 July 2015).
HESA (2013b), Destinations of Full-time First Degree Graduates: What 2011/12 Graduates Did Next, Higher Education Statistics Agency, Cheltenham, https://www.hesa.ac.uk/pr194 (accessed 10 July 2015).
HESA (2014b), Statistical First Release 205: Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education in the United Kingdom, Higher Education Statistics Agency, Cheltenham, https://www.hesa.ac.uk/sfr205 (accessed 10 July 2015).
24.
HyttiU.KuopusjärviP. (2004), ‘Evaluating and measuring entrepreneurship and enterprise education: Methods, tolls and practices’, Turku School of Economics and Business Administration, Turku; see also FayolleA.GaillyB.Lassas-ClercN. (2006), ‘Assessing the impact of entrepreneurship education programmes: A new methodology’, Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol 30, No 9, pp 701–720.
25.
McMullanE.ChrismanJ.J.VesperK. (2001), ‘Some problems in using subjective measures of effectiveness to evaluate assistance programmes’, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol 26, No 1, pp 37–54.
26.
MartinB.McNallyJ.KayM. (2013), ‘Examining the formation of human capital in entrepreneurship: A meta-analysis of entrepreneurship education outcomes’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol 28, No 2, pp 211–224.
27.
PittawayL.CopeJ. (2007), ‘Entrepreneurship education – a systematic review of the evidence’, International Small Business Journal, Vol 25, No 5, pp 479–510.
28.
StoreyD. (2000), ‘Six steps to heaven: Evaluating the impact of public policies to support small businesses in developed economies’, in SextonD.L.LandströmH., eds, The Blackwell Book of Entrepreneurship, Blackwell, Oxford, pp 176–194.
29.
UUK (2000), A Forward Look: Highlights of our Corporate Plan 2001–2004, Universities UK, London.
