Spark Entrepreneurial Hub

Northern Ireland has brilliant neurodivergent talent

but the support pathways for neurodivergent entrepreneurs are often fragmented, inconsistent, or missing.

The Spark Entrepreneurial Hub exists as enabling infrastructure. It is a real-world environment where we build, test, and scale neurodivergent-friendly approaches to entrepreneurial development, in partnership with others.

At a glance

What it is

A small, low-volume hub inside Spark HQ that supports partnership working, applied learning, and neurodivergent-led enterprise activity connected to Spark’s delivery and research ecosystem.

What it is not

Not a commercial co-working product
Not a mass-membership programme
Not “rent a desk and you are done”

Who it is for

Partners such as employers, funders, FE and HE, and service providers who want to co-design and test what works
Neurodivergent entrepreneurs who align with Spark’s values and want to participate in an ecosystem, not just a space

Why this Hub exists

Inclusion does not happen through intention alone. It happens when the conditions are designed properly.

For many neurodivergent entrepreneurs, what blocks progress is not motivation or talent. It is the friction. Unstable routines, sensory overload, admin load, confidence knocks, lack of consistent support, and the absence of pathways that recognise fluctuating capacity.

The Hub exists to help Northern Ireland move from fragmented support to practical, evidence-informed pathways designed with neurodivergent people, not around them.

What makes the Spark Entrepreneurial Hub different

1) Infrastructure for partnership, not a desk rental

The Hub strengthens Spark’s wider work across delivery, research, evaluation, and enterprise pathways. It provides a base that supports applied learning with partners and improves readiness for commissioned work.

2) Low-volume by design

Capacity is intentionally capped to protect sensory regulation, relational safety, and quality of engagement.

3) Participation-based membership

Where desk access is part of the model, it is values-led and participation-based, not transactional. People are contributors within an ecosystem, not tenants.

How people engage with the Hub

Engagement is designed to be flexible and respectful of fluctuating capacity.

Depending on fit, capacity, and purpose, participation may include:

Working groups (partners and members)

Partners and members can plug into working groups across areas such as:

R&D
AI
Research grants
Policy
Marketing
Academic funding
Strategy
and more

These groups bring multidisciplinary expertise into co-created solutions.

Virtual ecosystem participation

The Hub model is intentionally not a gatekeeper. People may still contribute lived experience, participate in enterprise activity, or engage in pilots and learning without using a physical desk.

Onboarding: needs-led and strengths-based

Where individuals join the Hub in a deeper way, onboarding is designed to reduce guesswork and increase sustainability.

This includes a needs-led approach that captures energy patterns, stress patterns, admin load, and what supports actually work in real life, alongside strengths-based insight. The aim is to support people to build businesses that fit their nervous system and capacity.

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Research and academic partnership ecosystem

Spark is building an evolving ecosystem across programmes, applied research, and strategic partnerships. This includes established FE and HE relationships and research capability that supports evaluation and credibility.

We also link into wider innovation conversations and welcome research partnerships that translate directly into practical, real-world change.

Childcare pathways (co-creation)

We recognise that entrepreneur parents often face an additional barrier: support systems that do not fit real life.

As part of our longer-term ecosystem work, at our core, we are building partnerships to explore neurodivergent-friendly childcare pathways that are designed with;