Evaluating the impact of engineering enterprise support: Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowships

Royal Academy of Engineering

Metro Dynamics was commissioned by the Royal Academy of Engineering to conduct an economic evaluation of its Enterprise Fellowships programme, which supports start‑up and spin‑out founders through equity funding, training and mentoring. The programme plays a critical role in accelerating the commercialisation of engineering innovation and strengthening the UK’s innovation‑led economy.

The evaluation sought to understand the programme’s impact and contribution to national prosperity, competitiveness and value for money, and to provide robust evidence to inform future programme development and funding decisions.

Our work evaluated the impact of the programme using:

  • A theory‑based evaluation approach to test how and why impacts are generated

  • Over 40 in‑depth interviews with stakeholders, fellows and unsuccessful applicants

  • An online beneficiary survey to quantify outcomes and experiences

  • Quantitative analysis of performance and monitoring data

  • A value for money assessment drawing on published quasi‑experimental evidence from comparable business support programmes to estimate lower‑bound impacts

Alongside the evaluation, we undertook a rapid market review to develop a shared understanding of the programme’s unique offer. This helped sharpen the narrative around the Enterprise Fellowships and has since been used by the Royal Academy of Engineering to support marketing activity and articulate the programme’s value to funders.

The evaluation confirmed the success of the Enterprise Fellowships in supporting high‑potential engineering ventures, accelerating innovation and generating substantial social and economic benefits. Our recommendations focused on strategic opportunities to strengthen delivery and on how the Academy can fully maximise the value of its assets, networks and convening power. The findings provide a strong evidence base to support future investment and the continued evolution of the programme.