Fellowship

Fellowship Scheme

The IFEED Fellowship Scheme recognises people who contribute to research, policy and practice in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

It is designed for people on different career paths: academics who study entrepreneurial ecosystems and their policy, and practitioners who build and support SMEs and startups. Its members range from university students to people with long careers in the field.

The scheme recognises contribution in two ways. Pathways describe the kind of contribution a person makes, as an academic or as a practitioner. Categories describe its stage, from Member to Associate Fellow and Fellow. The same standards apply on both pathways, so that research and practice are recognised on equal terms.

Fellowship Overview

The Fellowship of IFEED is a network of experts in entrepreneurial ecosystem policy. It brings together academics who research SMEs, startups and the ecosystems around them, and practitioners who build, fund and support them.

Its purpose is to connect research with practice. Policy for SMEs and startups is better designed when the people who study it and the people who work with it share what they know, test each other’s evidence and learn from each other’s experience.

The Fellowship has three categories: Members, Associate Fellows and Fellows. Members are starting out in the field or studying it, among them university students. Associate Fellows have established experience and a notable contribution. Fellows have a significant track record in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and its policy.

Its functions follow from its purpose. Fellows bring their expertise and evidence to IFEED’s research, take part in its conferences, forums, symposia and exhibitions, and share their experience with people who are newer to the field.

The Fellowship has been part of IFEED’s work since 2014. Over that time, the experience of its members has shaped the policy questions IFEED studies, the evidence it draws on and the discussions it holds.

Fellowship is a recognition by peers. It is awarded only after review against published criteria, and it is held by people whose work is respected in research and in practice. To be a Fellow of IFEED is to be recognised by the people who know the field best.

Fellowship Pathways

Applicants join the Fellowship through one of two pathways: Academics and Practitioners. The pathway describes the kind of contribution a person makes to the entrepreneurial ecosystem; the category, from Member to Fellow, describes its stage.

Both pathways lead to every category, and the same standards apply to both. Research and practice are recognised on equal terms, because entrepreneurial ecosystem policy needs both: evidence on what works, and the experience of the people who make it work. Applicants name the pathway that best describes their contribution.

Academics

The academic pathway is for people who study entrepreneurial ecosystems, SMEs and startups, and their policy, through research, publishing and teaching. It includes researchers and lecturers at universities and research institutes, and students on degree programmes in SMEs and startups, or entrepreneurship.

Contribution on this pathway is shown through research, publishing and teaching: studies that add to what is known about entrepreneurial ecosystems and their policy, publications that make that knowledge available to others, and teaching that prepares the next generation of researchers and practitioners.

It is also shown through the use that others make of this work. Research that informs a policy decision, the evaluation of a support programme or the design of a new scheme is a contribution to the ecosystem as well as to scholarship.

Practitioners

The practitioner pathway is for people who work in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, such as entrepreneurs, startup mentors, accelerators, venture investors and angel investors, and others who build, fund and support SMEs and startups.

Contribution on this pathway is shown through work in the ecosystem: the firms built, supported, mentored or funded, the programmes run, and the results they achieved.

It is also shown through what practitioners share with others. The experience of starting and growing firms, of investing in them and of helping them through difficulty is evidence that policy needs, and practitioners who bring it into research and policy discussion strengthen the ecosystem as a whole.

Fellowship Categories

The Fellowship has three categories. Each reflects a stage of experience and contribution, from Member to Fellow, and each has its own criteria.

Member

Working in or studying the entrepreneurial ecosystem, with an understanding of its policy research and education.

Members are at the start of their work in the field, or are studying it. Membership connects them with the academics and practitioners of the Fellowship.

• People who work in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, such as entrepreneurs, startup mentors, accelerators, venture investors, angel investors and researchers
• People with a good understanding of entrepreneurial ecosystem policy research and education
• University students studying SMEs and startups, and entrepreneurship

Associate Fellow

Established experience in, and a notable contribution to, the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Associate Fellows have established their place in the field and made a contribution that others can point to.

• People with at least five years’ experience in the entrepreneurial ecosystem as a researcher or practitioner
• People who have made a notable contribution to the entrepreneurial ecosystem through publishing, education or business
• People who have completed a degree programme in SMEs and startups, or entrepreneurship

Fellow

Significant experience, contribution and track record in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and its policy.

Fellows lead in research or in practice, and their track record in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and its policy is recognised by their peers.

• People with at least ten years’ significant experience in, and contribution to, the entrepreneurial ecosystem as a researcher or practitioner
• People with an academic or practical track record in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and its policy
• People who hold a doctorate in a relevant field, such as engineering, the natural sciences, the social sciences or the humanities, or an equivalent qualification

Fellowship Process

Admission to all three categories, Member, Associate Fellow and Fellow, is by recommendation of an existing Fellow. It follows five steps.

1. Recommendation and petition. The applicant obtains the recommendation of an existing Fellow and submits a petition asking IFEED to review their application.
2. Eligibility check. IFEED checks that the petition meets the requirements for review, including the criteria of the category applied for.
3. Review committee. A review committee is formed to consider the application.
4. Fellowship review. The committee reviews the applicant’s experience and contribution against the criteria of the category and pathway.
5. Announcement and appointment. The result is announced, and successful applicants are appointed to the Fellowship in their category.