Engaging the business support network to give SMEs the benefit of Foresight

This paper reports on recent research aimed at improving interaction between the Foresight programme and Sniffs (Small and Medium sized Enterprises). The UK Foresight programme is a major input into the ongoing debate into innovation and the science base in the United Kingdom. SMEs have so far failed in significant numbers to become involved in the forward thinking culture that Foresight promotes. This paper examines the problem of how Foresight can be packaged to make it more SME-friendly. This work used the context of knowledge transfer and the intermediary role of the business support community. Conceptual frameworks were developed to describe SMEs' managerial attitudes to the future and to give structure to the business support community. Fieldwork revealed patterns of interaction between SMEs and business support intermediaries. A model was developed showing a system for targeting Foresight to SMEs through the engagement of these intermediaries. This paper examines the implications of this model and locates the contributions of the research. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.