Description
Type(s) of assessment: Individual Essay (100%)
Maximum length of coursework elements: 3,000 words
Students are asked to note that the word count is the absolute upper limit. There is no leeway over this, i.e. you will be penalised if you submit work that exceeds the word limit (the suggestion that you may exceed the word count by 10% is a myth!)
The following are not included in word counts:
Reference lists/bibliographies and question titles
Appendices/footnotes – provided these have been used only when necessary. If appendices or footnotes are used excessively, or contain material which should clearly be included in the main body of the essay/report, it is at the markers’ discretion to include these in the word count.
Tables/graphs – provided these have been imported from elsewhere (correctly referenced) and not produced by the student.
Contents pages and front pages of reports
As well as the essay/report itself, the following are included in word counts:
Citations/quotations – this includes the material paraphrased/quoted itself as well as the name, date and page information.
Tables and graphs – if they have been produced by the student.
Executive summaries in reports – unless otherwise stated.
Weighting of the assessment components: 100%Tips for achieving good marks in assessments: There are no secrets. To achieve a good grade in this assessment you should attend lectures and seminars (research indicates that the most reliable predictor of academic performance is class attendance) where key ideas and examples are discussed. I have made efforts to ensure that all of the material that you will need to achieve excellent grades in this assignment will be available on Canvas. You will notice that there are plenty of academic papers and reports uploaded each week, you do not have to read all of this material, but everything you need to do well will be there
Assignment Brief:
“Entrepreneurship is a formidable engine of economic growth and an essential driver of societal health and wealth. It drives the essential innovation required to exploit new opportunities, promote productivity and create employment, but also to address some of societies grandest challenges (e.g UN SDGs). The promotion of entrepreneurship will be central to governments worldwide for the foreseeable future”As the quote above illustrates, the promotion of innovative entrepreneurship is an important concern for policymakers across different national contexts. In this report, you should critically evaluate policymakers’ efforts to stimulate and support innovative entrepreneurship. To do this, you might consider:
The attitudes, skills and knowledge associated with innovative entrepreneurship and how these might be influenced by policy interventions (e.g training and mentoring programmes).
The process of start-up and scale-up and how these might be influenced by policy interventions (e.g accelerator and incubator programmes).
The resources required for innovative entrepreneurship (e.g venture capital) and how these might be influenced by policy interventions
The various alternative forms of entrepreneurship (e.g social entrepreneurship) and their capacity to create different types of valueUsing academic literature, lecture materials and grey literature (e.g policy reports) you should reflect on the positive and negative aspects of different policy interventions and develop a wider argument about how policy support can effectively realise the economic and social benefits of entrepreneurship.
Marking Criteria:
Criteria Marks Available
Introduction: Your introduction sets the scene for your essay. It offers an overview of the key argument that is presented and provides an outline of the structure of this argument. Key findings are highlighted and an answer to the question of whether policymakers should support innovative entrepreneurship is provided. 10
Analysis of Entrepreneurship Policy: Analysis should focus on the issues identified in the brief. You should consider the theoretical ideas related to people, process, resources and context as well as policy interventions aimed at supporting innovative entrepreneurship. Real-world examples of policy should be used to support your analysis. Robust 50
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analysis will connect theoretical concepts to policy examples, which will allow for deeper reflection on the effectiveness of policy interventions.
Critical Evaluation of Entrepreneurship Policy:Building on your analysis, you should critically reflect on the effectiveness of different policy interventions. Reflections may concentrate on the effectiveness of particular proposals as well the wider capacity of entrepreneurship policy to accomplish its goals, and the implications of this. Recommendations as to how policymakers should support entrepreneurship should be produced. 20
Conclusion: Presents a concise summary of the key arguments and suggestions for how to proceed. Conclusions build on the critical evaluation and are consistent with the analysis that is presented. There should also be some reflection on the limitations of the essay. 10
Structure, Presentation and Referencing: Reportsshould be clearly structured with subheadings and arguments should be signposted throughout. They should also display evidence of engagement with academic and grey literature, moving beyond the prescribed materials. Presents clear evidence of independent research. Referencing should be consistent and accurate. 10
