A popular support programme that has helped more than 100 businesses across the county is to return to help small and medium-sized businesses on the path to recovery and growth.
Delivered by Lancaster University Management School and funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Cumbria Forum is designed to support small and medium-sized businesses by providing a trusted peer-to-peer network and activities to stimulate self-development and business growth.
The innovative programme incorporates key elements of Lancaster University’s research into how entrepreneurs learn and grow.
Since launching in 2016, Cumbria Forum has supported more than 140 companies and helped to create more than 35 new jobs, Lancaster University claim.
Now delivered online, the programme has been adapted to best fit the ‘post-pandemic world’ and will be delivered over the course of a four-month period.
The fully-funded programme is now open for applications and is due to start on June 15.
Participants of Cumbria Forum sign up for two online sessions per month, combined with a facilitated peer consultancy process so participants can apply their learning to their business.
Ewan Pullan, project manager at Lancaster University Management School, said: “The world has changed more than we could have imagined 12 months ago, and business leaders have been inundated with challenges and forced to make difficult decisions.
“Now, armed with a pathway to a ‘new normal’ and with lockdown easing, mindsets will need to shift from survival mode to rebuilding.”
Liam Berney, owner of The Cottage in the Wood, the Whinlatter Forest-based ‘restaurant with rooms’ is one of the business leaders who has recently benefitted from Cumbria Forum support, when, just five months after his restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star, the pandemic forced its doors to close.
“An unexpected benefit of taking part in the programme has been the opportunity to share experiences with other delegates,” he explained.
“I was amazed at the innovation taking place at even some very small enterprises within the county.
“The sessions have been inspiring. This has been an invaluable opportunity to generate and share ideas, learn from others including the expert programme leaders, and sow the seeds for future innovations.”
The new and reformed Cumbria Forum covers topics such as business resilience, innovation and leadership under an overarching theme of ‘Responsible Recovery’; helping leaders plan for a business that is not just economically successful but is socially and environmentally responsible.
Suzanne Caldwell, managing director of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, the lead partner in Cumbria Business Growth Hub, said the organisation “knows from feedback how beneficial Cumbria Forum is.”
