Shared Growth or Concentrated Advantage? A Cross-Border, Longitudinal Study of Inclusive Entrepreneurship Across the Island of Ireland

Summary

Entrepreneurship is well established as a driver of economic growth and competitiveness as set out in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) (Doran et al., 2018; Bosma et al., 2020; Tahir and Burki, 2023).

The benefits of entrepreneurship and activity are unevenly distributed however with a pattern noted across various countries suggesting there are various factors both facilitating and influencing this at a place and person-based level (Rietveld and Patel, 2022).

Although GEM is designed to support disaggregated analysis, Northern Ireland and Ireland are still surveyed and reported separately with no study pooling and disaggregating data from both regions by sub-region, age, gender, education or migrant status across the island.

This study will seek to address this gap directly, producing the first cross-border, disaggregated evidence base on entrepreneurial activity and inclusion across the island of Ireland.

Specifically, this research will seek to explore entrepreneurial opportunity and activity and how it is distributed across the island of Ireland, and whether the benefits of economic growth in priority sectors are genuinely shared or concentrated among those with the strongest existing access to finance, networks, and support and the lowest barriers to entrepreneurship.

Indeed, current evidence does not show whether entrepreneurial opportunity within these sectors is being accessed equitably across demographic and place-based groups such as migrants, disabled, younger and/or older and rural founders.

By purposively sampling entrepreneurs within priority sectors and tracking their journeys over two time points, the study will identify where sector-specific barriers including finance, networks, skills and market access fall unevenly across groups.

This study has two phases.

Phase 1 will use secondary analysis of the GEM data for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, establishing a baseline of entrepreneurial activity, attitudes, and demographic composition, and enabling direct comparison of entrepreneurial trends under two distinct policy and institutional regimes across all entrepreneurial types and sectors.

This baseline will attempt to identify any structural gaps in participation by gender, age, migrant status, and disability, and by sector, which in turn will inform a purposive sampling strategy for a second stage of the study.

Access to the GEM dataset is uniquely secured by Dr Karen Bonner, as GEM Team Lead Northern Ireland.

Phase 2 of the study will include a diverse cohort of entrepreneurs, including disabled, migrant, female, younger, older and rural founders, operating across at least 3 priority government sectors such as Advanced Manufacturing, Materials and Engineering, Agri-Tech, Life and Health Sciences and or Low Carbon/Net Zero, at two points in time namely 2027 and 2028.

The research seeks to explore entrepreneurial journeys rather than evidencing only a single point in time. This distance travelled design will document how entrepreneurial journeys actually unfold including what support is accessed or denied, what barriers persist or resolve, and what shifts between the two waves.

Findings will then be triangulated with the GEM baseline data to test whether qualitative accounts confirm, complicate, or contradict what aggregate data would predict.

This study is therefore unique by combining quantitative baselining, all-island comparison, and longitudinal qualitative depth, to produce a valuable, but rare, disaggregated evidence base to inform more inclusive enterprise support design.

This evidence is critical to support current commitments to grow a globally competitive and sustainable economy on both sides of the border therefore the policy, academic and societal relevance of this study is evident.

Indeed, it will produce evidence to inform more targeted, inclusive delivery of the Department’s sectoral ambitions rather than assuming uniform access to opportunity across sectors.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

• A comprehensive and articulate personal statement demonstrating interest in the subject area
• Research proposal of no more than 2000 words detailing aims, objectives, milestones and methodology of the project

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

• Applicants should hold, or expect to hold a First Class Honours Degree in a relevant subject area
• Applicants should hold, or expect to hold a relevant Masters Degree at a level equivalent to commendation or distinction at Ulster

Equal Opportunities

The University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community, particularly from those with disabilities.

Appointment will be made on merit.

Funding and eligibility

This project is funded by:

• Department for the Economy (DfE)
• Vice Chancellor's Research Scholarship (VCRS)

PhD Scholarships are available for this project and will cover:

• Tuition fees.
• A maintenance allowance of approximately £22,000 (exact rate is to be confirmed) per annum for three years, subject to satisfactory academic performance.
• A Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of approximately £900 per annum.

To be eligible for these scholarships applicants must: be a UK or Irish national; or have pre-settled or settled status; or have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

Applicants should also meet the residency criteria which requires that they have lived in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Gibraltar for at least the three years preceding the start date of the research degree programme i.e. September 2027.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year, or part-time equivalent, funded from any source, including self-financing students, are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Students in full-time employment are not eligible for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies.

Part-time PhD scholarships may be available at a 0.5 pro rata rate of the full-time scholarship, which would require a six-year registration period.

The University will award a successful candidate one of the following scholarships for the project, depending on the funding available at the time an admissions offer is made:

1. Department for the Economy (DfE) PhD Scholarships
2. Vice Chancellor’s Research Scholarships (VCRS)

Please note that the Terms and Conditions for scholarships are subject to change for 2027/28.