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Society is evolving towards an 'entrepreneurial economy' where entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship play an increasingly important role. Another relevant development is that the new generation of entrepreneurs may have different demands or expectations regarding entrepreneurship and financing than what has been more common until now. Characteristic of this is that young entrepreneurs may prefer to use alternative forms of financing earlier in their ventures.
Simultaneously, entrepreneurship in the future will also require new/different skills. Entrepreneurs must, for example, be able to quickly respond to changing and dynamic (market) conditions. Many of these entrepreneurs work in small, starting companies and grow towards becoming SMEs. The Dutch SME market consists of several hundred thousand companies with more than one employee (including the entrepreneur). These companies play a crucial role in the Dutch economy in terms of employment, added value, and exports. Therefore, the government is keen on nurturing and supporting this group of companies as needed, for instance, in internationalization and innovation.
Dialogic conducts research on various themes related to entrepreneurship and SMEs (including for the Flemish SME policy):
- Evaluation of SME and entrepreneurship policies
The Dutch government has a wide range of tools and agencies to assist entrepreneurs in scaling up, financing, and innovating. Dialogic regularly evaluates these initiatives (including the Seed Capital scheme, the Growth Facility, the GO scheme, PMV Flanders, and the broader SME financing landscape). - Monitoring of entrepreneurship and SMEs
Dialogic assists governments in developing indicators that provide insight into various aspects of SMEs and entrepreneurship. This assistance includes setting up monitoring systems (e.g. for the SME action plan), the actual measurement, and reporting through online dashboards. - Policy support and advice
The government requires insight into societal and economic developments that may influence entrepreneurship and SME policies, as well as the knowledge questions that may arise from them. Dialogic regularly helps governments explore these (strategic) issues. Examples include an exploration of the (future) developments in the SME financing market and an inventory of new knowledge questions regarding SMEs and entrepreneurship, such as diversity and 'human capital'.
