Understanding Business Adaptations and Opportunities Realisation for Defra Sector Businesses in a Changing Economic Climate

Summary

The Authority would like to understand the circumstances in which businesses in its sectors are operating, and making plans for the future, following recent changes in the economic climate. These changes include influences from the pandemic, EU Exit, the energy crisis, changing supply chain challenges, and in response to new initiatives e.g. the Government Growth Plan. This research will provide insights into the extent to which businesses are planning for short and long-term adaptation in light of these events, including the barriers to making adaptations and how new potential opportunities can be maximised.

It is anticipated that the research will include both quantitative and qualitative methods (a survey of 2,500 businesses, 20 follow up interviews) and cover businesses based in England, Wales, and Scotland, including a variety of sample quotas (sector, region, business size, trading status). The Authority would welcome Tenderers to propose alternate quantitative and qualitative approaches with a clear and strong rationale for how the chosen approach would meet the Authority's overall aims. Considerations should be given to the possible sensitive nature of the research, strong relationships maintained throughout, and research outputs fed back to participants.

The aims of this research project are to understand:

• The current trading conditions for businesses in Defra sectors • The extent to which businesses are making adaptation plans, following changes in the economic climate, with influences including the pandemic, EU exit, the energy crisis, changing supply chain challenges, and in response to new initiatives e.g. the Government Growth Plan • To what extent businesses see new opportunities, following changes in the economic climate, with influences including the pandemic, EU exit, the energy crisis, changing supply chain challenges, and in response to new initiatives e.g. the Government Growth Plan • To what extent businesses are able to maximise opportunities for growth. Background to the Requirement

Following recent changes in the economic climate, including influences such as the pandemic, EU-exit, the energy crisis, changing supply chain challenges, and in light of the Government's Growth Plan and Levelling Up , the Authority wants to understand the current status of its sectors and whether businesses are making adaptation plans, as well as the opportunities sectors perceive for the future.

This research will: o inform Defra, Scottish Government and Welsh Government how Defra sector businesses are adapting in light of recent changes in the economic climate, and how government can support growth across these sectors; o provide insight into how different types of businesses across these sectors perceive, and are responding to, new international trading conditions; and o support the development of monitoring and evaluation of international trade in relation to Defra sectors.