Business Broker Pilot

The Business Broker pilot ran for three years from April 2002 to March 2005. The Department of Communities and Local Government, the Home Office and Department of Trade and Industry part-funded 10 Business Brokers connected to LSPs in a range of Neighbourhood Renewal Funded areas. The aim of the programme was to test whether, through brokerage, business could contribute more effectively to the turnaround of some of our most deprived neighbourhoods.

The independent evaluation of the pilots, published in Spring 2005, demonstrated significant increases in business engagement and mutual benefits to the community organisations, companies and partner organisations involved. It demonstrated the value in investing in a dedicated resource to engage businesses in contributing to Neighbourhood Renewal and has provided a significant source of learning for other LSPs.

The ten pilot areas were Brent, Newham, Hastings, West Cornwall, Luton, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Easington, Sheffield and Burnley.

Brokers were employed by a diverse range of local agencies including Chambers of Commerce, an enterprise agency, a local authority and Business in the Community. Though working in different environments and in areas with very different characteristics the Brokers'’ aims were similar:

• to boost local employment;
• to support enterprise and retail; and
• to increase the business voice on Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs).

Where possible, Brokers were to signpost businesses to existing opportunities such as volunteer bureaux, New Deal for Communities initiative and Business Link programmes. Where appropriate they were to kickstart action, including setting up business forums, business involvement in social enterprise and business engagement with black and minority ethnic communities.

At national level, the programme was managed by Business in the Community through its Partnership Academy. The Partnership Academy is now dedicated to building on this experience and offering its support beyond the 10 areas.