13 March, 2026

Several large-scale experimental studies in recent years suggest that certain advisory and training approaches can lead to substantial improvements in SME performance. In some cases, studies have reported very large increases in profitability or sales growth from certain approaches (and marginal impacts from others).

These findings are promising - but they also raise an important question: Can these results be replicated and implemented at scale in advisory ecosystems?

Through the Interreg Atlantic Area funded BEACon project, partners across several European countries are working with business support organisations to test and refine these methodologies in practice.

On 23 March, we are hosting a short online session titled “The Future of Business Advice and Training?”
⏰ 15:00 CET (14:00 WET)
⏳ 1 hour duration

During the session we will:

• Share insights from recent research on high-impact advisory methods
• Outline our upcoming pilot phase with SMEs across Europe
• Discuss practical challenges of implementation and adoption
• Explore opportunities for advisors to assess these approaches

If you work in entrepreneurship support, business advisory, SME policy, or training, your perspective would be very valuable. If you know someone who might be interested - please share this with them.

You can register here https://telcit.zoom.us/meeting/register/osvLHSkNTGy0fy9e5UMRqg#/registration. Please note you need to have a registered zoom account with the email you are using before you can register.

We look forward to a thoughtful discussion about how research and practice can work together to improve the effectiveness of business support.

Represented by Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence and lead by Niall O'Leary, Munster Technological University is Lead Partner in this project.

To learn more about this exciting project, please visit the project page on our website or click here.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.