Programme participants give us their views on Investing in Health

1 July 2010

Background

The Yorkshire Forward website makes the following offer to entrepreneurs in the region.

 

"Before everything else, getting ready is the key to success"

- Henry Ford

 

The Investing in Health programme gives companies and entrepreneurs the opportunity to ‘get ready’ for investment. The free programme is designed specifically to develop their investment proposition with a team of people dedicated to improving the level of successful investment into Yorkshire and Humber companies. The programme included seminars and workshops run by experts, one-to-one mentoring, the chance to swap experiences with fellow healthcare experts and pitch to a group of serious investors and local business angels.

 

Objectives & methodology

The overall objective for the research was to get a frank evaluation of the programme and gain an insight into how things might be improved in the future.

 

By the time the research was undertaken, 63 companies had engaged in the programme.

Research was conducted amongst participants to evaluate their experience; a cross section willing to take part in research was contacted by telephone for depth interviews.  Interviews followed a guide but there was ample opportunity for respondents to add their topics and explore areas of interest.

Findings

Response levels were really encouraging, as was the amount of time people were prepared to devote to giving their views; over a third of those on the programme participated.

 

Most respondents found the experience of the programme demanding, exhausting, exhilarating and totally worthwhile.

 

The spontaneous comment identified the following reasons for satisfaction:

 

·         Rigor in the exercise;

·         A well constructed and well thought-out programme;

·         Compact and no time wasting;

·         Excellent speakers with relevant experience;

·         High calibre people involved;

·         Genuine learning outcomes;

·         Useful contacts both amongst those delivering the programme and fellow participants.

 

Everyone spoken to felt it was worth participating in, even people who did not complete the entire process.

 

What the participants really liked was the way they had been listened to and that those running the programme had taken time to read the information on their projects so advice was tailor-made to their needs. Neither was time wasted as course personnel understood the stages projects were at and delivered accordingly. Most people felt there was genuine interest in what they were doing.

 

The word most coined by participants to describe the programme was ‘professional’. The overall key to success was the quality of personnel running the programme at all stages and the degree to which a ‘real’ business’ situation was simulated.

 

Like every scheme it had aspects that might be reviewed; the preliminary information and induction sessions could have been clearer, some participants felt some businesses involved were at too early a stage to really benefit.

 

However the most encouraging aspect of feedback was that ‘the class of 09’ still felt that they have a lot to learn from each other. They would like the opportunity to meet up and follow up each other’s progress in some kind of informal forum.

 

The final verdict was of a useful exercise which expanded people’s knowledge, helped them critically evaluate what they were doing, and gave essential information into the ways of attracting investment.