The delivery of business support services in the West Midlands (Business Link, Manufacturing Advisory Service and Train to Gain) has changed over recent years.
It is now appropriate to review the progress of the service against its aims and objectives and to gather information that can inform possible changes to future services and delivery.
The Observatory has been asked by Advantage West Midlands and the Learning and Skills Council to manage this research work.
There are four elements to the research:
- Desk-based research
- A set of 50 interviews with stakeholders
- A survey of 993 current and recent users of the services
- A survey of 800 businesses that have never used the services, or who have stopped using the services
DTZ have undertaken the fieldwork and analysis, and written the final report.
It is planned to publish the findings and report but, as these contain information that informs commercial discussions, this will not be done until these discussions have been concluded. Publication is unlikely before late 2009.