Is continual change of business support infrastructure contributing to the simplification agenda?

The Conservative Party’s Richard Report raises the concern that the state of permanent change in RDA business support “adds uncertainty to complexity: the two things all businesses wish to avoid” but adds to it in recommending abolishing the business support part of the RDAs and replacing it with a single online business information service!

The more selective and targeted IDB (information, diagnostic, brokerage) model appears to be under threat already, and many businesses may not access sufficient strategic information readily through online systems.

As many of the Richard’s specific recommendations are already provided at least in part by Business Links, the main problem may be the failure to measure the effects of business support programmes or measuring them in trivial ways (e.g. satisfaction and market penetration?!).

The policy need is to measure not only programme outputs but outcomes in business change and performance and impacts in local economic statistics and competitiveness, but these are often long term and rarely readily attributable solely to business support programmes.

The baby could be thrown out with the bathwater if the more sophisticated business development support services provided by RDAs are lumped together with generic Business Link information services.

Some serious, market segmented and evidence based policy thinking seems to be required to minimise confusion and discouragement among the intended beneficiaries if not the agencies staff themselves!

Small Business and Government, The Richard Report, Conservative Party, 2008

Full report can be downloaded Richard Report