Evaluation of the impact of Business Growth services 2003-05

Business Growth services have been delivered through the Business Gateway, principally in the form of a Business Development Review (BDR) through Client Management or a Healthcheck through the Universal service. The evaluation looked at the experience of a variety of businesses of varying scales and sectors which have received support through Business Growth services in Fife over the period 2003-2005.

The methodology consisted of desk based research; face-to-face interviews with a number of companies that had received support; and consultation with Business Gateway staff who had performed the Client Manager and Business Adviser function over the period covered by the evaluation and managers in Business Gateway and Scottish Enterprise Fife (SEF).

The evaluation found that: as a result of the support there have been impacts on Fife businesses, both in terms of quantifiable measures as well as in relation to changes in attitudes; ratings for the overall quality of the service and for the Client Managers and Business Advisers are good; there are some lessons emerging from this particular evaluation which could be helpful in influencing the shape of support for businesses through the Business Gateway.

The report recommends: the development of a clear statement of what Business Gateway will do with existing businesses – based on an indication of what is expected as the output and pointing the business towards strategic thinking and growth; that the philosophy of intervention should be explained consistently; that there should be more selectivity about which businesses should be worked with and how much time they should get; that the BDR process should be applied as was originally intended, and not as a grant appraisal vehicle; and that Action Plans should be developed as an essential feature of intervention.