Thames Freeport - Britain's Trading Future

[ 65 ] and provide transparency and predictability in documentation, which is otherwise prohibitively expensive and time consuming for small businesses. Using the infrastructure of a freeport can alleviate some of these business headaches. It also encourages small operators to work together to take advantage of economies of scale, and develop competitive clusters of excellence. There has been considerable interest in social capital and social networks as a key factor in understanding the performance of organisations, networks of operators, and societies. Plymouth Business School has established expertise through research and industry engagement in SMEs’ innovation and competitiveness from a social networks perspective. It has developed and successfully tested analytical frameworks to explain structural and relational dimensions of social capital to evaluate market and operational effectiveness, economic development and prosperity, the growth of entrepreneurial firms and supply chain performance. This important element of the Innovation Hub will be achieved through seminars, bespoke interventions to enable businesses and partners to establish strong links with other organisations to grow or expand their market reach. SMEs are very innovative. Having limited resources at their disposal, they have to develop creative approaches and solutions. And business leaders, with limited numbers of senior employees to rely on, are often involved in most decision-making processes. Their focus on the day-to-day management and operations leaves little time to explore overseas markets The experience and expertise at the University can benefit small businesses in addressing barriers to market entry and pathways to innovation, and support them in integrating new trade processes with their existing operations. The University has designed toolkits for SMEs to improve profitability through marginal analysis, streamline processes, reduce costs and develop effective frameworks to improve business processes. This leads to increased competitiveness and job security for employees. Preparing for Brexit was particularly challenging for SMEs, but the University has already helped several SMEs address recurrent trade barriers through harmonised trade procedures in transport and warehousing operations. This has resulted in a centralised and coordinated system of supply with more predictability and resilience built in the supply chain. Inspiring innovation and business growth The University already has a significant impact on the economy through its work with the business community. It informs economic strategies and works in partnership to support the development of key growth sectors and broader innovation. This track record and breadth of experience will directly influence its work to create the Thames Freeport’s Innovation Hub. Coordinated by the business- facing Enterprise Solutions Service, the University can direct commercial partners to the most appropriate solution to their business need. Its focus in recent years had included enabling access to world-class facilities and creating opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange between researchers and enterprise. And in the past two years alone, it has supported over 800 businesses to develop new products, services or processes through research collaborations, consultancy, exploitation of IP, or access to facilities. Training the next generation of mariner — students operating the 270-degree projected high-definition ship simulator located in the University’s Marine Building One consideration in creating a freeport is its potential to stimulate economic opportunities, particularly in regions of deprivation or unfulfilled potential