This review was undertaken by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) led by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director, in co-operation with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI) of the Government of Ireland.
The study was managed and supervised by Jonathan Potter (Head of the Entrepreneurship Policy and Analysis Unit, CFE) and coordinated by Kris Boschmans (Policy Analyst, CFE). The report was drafted by a team involving Martin Andersson (Blekinge Institute of Technology – main responsibility for Chapter 6), Kris Boschmans (main responsibility for Chapter 3 and parts of Chapter 5 and 7), Alexander Coad (Católica Graduate Business School, Lima, Peru – main responsibility for Chapter 7), Lora Pissareva (Policy Analyst, CFE – main responsibility for Chapter 2), Jonathan Potter (main responsibility for Chapter 1), Alasdair Reid (European Future Innovation System Centre – main responsibility for parts of Chapter 5) and Lois Stevenson (independent consultant – main responsibility for Chapters 4 and 8). Additional written inputs were provided by Sebastian Ptok and Susanne Schlepphorst (both from the Institut für Mittelstandsforschung, Bonn, Germany – Chapter 5), and Sandra Hannig (Policy Analyst, CFE – Chapter 6). The report was edited by Kris Boschmans and Jonathan Potter.
Input and/or feedback is gratefully acknowledged from Bert Brys (Head of Unit, Centre for Tax Policy, OECD [CTP]), Sarah Perret (Tax Economist, CTP), Lucia Cusmano (Head of SME and Entrepreneurship Division, CFE), Malgorzata Kuczera (Policy Analyst, Education Directorate, OECD), Benjamin Gerloff (Consultant, Governance Directorate, OECD), São Igreja (Portuguese Securities Market Commission - CMVM) and Ben Westmore (Senior Economist, Economics Directorate, OECD). Heather Mortimer Charoy, Assistant, CFE, provided project support.
Members of the Steering Group of the Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship provided valuable input to the report: Nels Ekelund and Laurie Hayley (Canada), Matteo Corbetta and Salvatore Zecchini (Italy), Karl Woodhead (New Zealand) and Simon Falck and Carly Smith-Jonsson (Sweden). The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Ministry of Education and Research also provided valuable comments.
This report could not have been drafted without the support and continued engagement of key stakeholders from Ireland. Numerous individuals from government organisations, associations, academics, think thanks and other institutions provided vital information and feedback throughout the drafting process. Their assistance during the kick-off mission and subsequent two study missions, the detailed information submitted through the questionnaire, and constructive comments on earlier draft versions of this report proved crucial to the finalisation of this study. Special thanks are reserved for Nina Brennan, Laura Byrne, Hazel Carroll, Declan Hughes, Michael O’Rourke, Eoghan Richardson and Conor Verdon, all from the DBEI, for their hospitality and tireless support.