Steve Johnson is Professor of Business and Innovation at Leeds Trinity University. Hie research interests focus on the economic and social role of entrepreneurship and SMEs, and the effectiveness of public policies towards entrepreneurship, employment, skills and economic development.

Steve has an extensive track record of academic and applied research, consultancy, teaching and research leaderships, having held positions as Associate Dean in three UK business schools and Director of a small economic and policy consultancy.

Steve has worked with and advised many local, national and international organisations, including the European Commission, OECD, the World Bank, the governments of Poland and South Africa and several UK government departments and agencies.

In recent years, Steve's work has focused on understanding the relationship between research, policy and practice, and exploring how the quality and impact of research can be better evaluated and rewarded. He has presented and published this work in several outlets, including Evidence and Policy, Studies in Higher Education, the British Academy of Management and the Chartered Association of Business Schools.

Steve is a Board member of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) and a member of the Research Committee of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS).