Minoritised Enterprise Policy and Action Lab Scotland

Drawing on the nine protected characteristics identified in the Equality Act 2010, MEPALS purposes to facilitate the collaborative development and implementation of policies and practices that promote equitable, inclusive and flourishing entrepreneurial activity in Scotland.

To achieve this goal, MEPALS addresses the following objectives:

Gather evidence on participation and performance of minoritised enterprise in Scotland.
Diagnose and understand barriers through research and deep inclusive conversations with minoritised entrepreneurs, policy-makers and stakeholders in the ecosystem.
Collaboratively design potential interventions to overcome such barriers.
Encourage the implementation of the prototype interventions by the various ecosystem actors in their own realms of work.
Collectively reflect on the outcomes of the interventions and share lessons and best-practice.

The activities undertaken by MEPALS fall under four themes as follows:

Research

Drawing on insightful theory and rigorous analysis, MEPALS undertakes academic and practitioner research on minoritised entrepreneurship, published through academic journals, reports and other outlets.

People having a meeting inside a conference room

Engagement

MEPALS members take part in knowledge exchange and other engagement activity with partners outwith the university, including events hosted within the university or members attending events in the community or industry (e.g. invited talks).

Recent engagement

People putting hands together in a huddle

Action

Building on external engagement, it is the goal of MEPALS to promote the collaborative development and implementation of positive action, in line with the Equality Act 2010, comprising of policies and practices that promote equitable, inclusive and flourishing entrepreneurial activity in Scotland.

Close-up photo of Scrabble tiles, spelling out the words, 'stay creative'

Lessons

Since the positive actions prototyped by the lab are experimental and, where implemented, may undergo various pivots and adaptations, MEPALS documents and disseminates lessons learnt and emerging best-practice through case-studies and events.