Call for participants entrepreneur project

Providing students with better entrepreneurial learning and employability through sustainable entrepreneurship support

Contact details:

Principal investigator: Dr Sara Calvo, Walton Hall, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK

Other investigators involved: Dr Francesca Calo, Dr Aqueel Wahga and Dr Michael Ngoasong

Main contact for queries: Dr Sara Calvo, sara.calvo-martinez@open.ac.uk.

General information about the research study and collected research data

You are invited to take part in a study which explores how the existing incubators and accelerators are supporting the development of sustainable enterprise (especially through online engagement with entrepreneurs), and the challenges and opportunities they face. Your contribution to the study will help us to reflect upon the feasibility to develop an online incubator/accelerator at The Open University and assess the extent to which OU enterprise and innovation students aspire to start their own businesses and/or grow their existing enterprises; as well as understand the nature and scale of support they would need to materialise their aspirations.

This research will be carried out by Dr Sara Calvo, Dr Francesca Calo, Dr Aqueel Wahga and Dr Michael Ngoasong at the Faculty of Business and Law, The Open University. This project has been reviewed by, and received a favourable opinion from, The Open University Human Research Ethics Committee, reference 4595.

Before you decide whether or not to take part in this study, it is important that you understand what participation in the study will involve and how the information collected will be used. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. If you would like more information, please contact us at the addresses above. Please note that the interview is only open to people over the age of 18.

What will I be asked to do if I agree to take part?

If you are interested in taking part in the research study, you will be asked to participate in an interview, and it will last between 45-60 minutes duration. Before the start of the interview, you will be asked to complete a consent form.

It is your decision as to whether to take part. If you decide to take part, you can withdraw from the interview at any time, without giving a reason.

We cannot promise that the study will help you personally. However, the results should help our understanding of how incubator and accelerator programs work at other institutions and explore the feasibility of setting up a virtual incubator and accelerator that can support OU students in the Innovation and Enterprise pathway in improving their employability and enhancing their entrepreneurial journey.

There are no right or wrong answers to the interview. We are genuinely interested in hearing about your perspectives and experiences. If at any point in the interview you feel uncomfortable, you can stop the process at any time and you do not need to continue the interview. submit your recording.

How will the data I provide be used and privacy be maintained?

All of your information will be handled in confidence. Data will be kept secure in a protected passworded folder on an Open University server. Personal data will be kept until the data collected is anonymised (approximately one month after the completion of the interview). Once anonymised, personal data is destroyed. Anonymised research data will be kept for seven years.

Your personal details will not appear in any documents or in the final report. Your rights are protected under the General Data Protection Regulation. Any information that might identify you will not be shared outside the research team. No identifying information will appear in any documents or in the final report. Anonymity will be provided in case of verbatim extracts (quotations).

The anonymised data will be analysed by the research team. If you are interested in receiving a summary of the findings, please contact Sara Calvo at sara.calvo-martinez@open.ac.uk.

Data Protection

The Open University is the Data Controller for the personal data that you provide.

The lawful reason for processing your data will be that conducting academic research is part of the Open University’s public task. (The consent we request from you relates to ethical considerations)

You have a number of rights as a data subject:

• To request a copy of the personal data we have about you
• To rectify any personal data which is inaccurate or incomplete
• To restrict the processing of your data
• To receive a copy of your data in an easily transferrable format (if relevant)
• To erase your data
• To object to us processing your data.

Those who are approached to participate will not be affected by their decision to take part or not. If you are concerned about the way we have processed your personal information, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Please visit the ICO’s website for further details: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-t...

Your right to withdraw from the study

You have the right to withdraw from the study at any time during your participation by withdrawing the interview. You have the right to ask for your data to be removed after your participation in the study by writing an email to sara.calvo-martinez@open.ac.uk, up until the time all data have been anonymised and personal data have been cancelled (4th May 2029).

How do I agree to take part?

After reading the consent form below, complete your details and email the form to Dr Sara Calvo at sara.calvo-martinez@open.ac.uk. You will then be contacted to conduct the interview. If you have any concerns about the study, please contact our Principal investigator, Dr Sara Calvo at sara.calvo-martinez@open.ac.uk.

Participation information sheet PDF

Participation consent form

Should you have any complaints or concerns about the manner in which this project is conducted, please do not hesitate to contact the researcher via email or you may prefer to contact a third party Dr Andrew Gilbert, Deputy Director, Scholarship Centre for innovation in online Legal and Business Education (SCiLAB), Open University, Walton Hall, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, United Kingdom or via email andrew.gilbert@open.ac.uk