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Publication - Research and analysis

Culture sector support needs survey

Published
19 May 2025
From
Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
Directorate
Strategy Directorate
Topic
Arts, culture and sport
ISBN
9781836915713

This report summarises the responses to an online survey that was aimed at those working across or with an interest in the culture sector. It captures their experiences of, and views on, current support provision for culture in Scotland.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Appendix C: Data Tables

Table 1: Number and percentage of respondents by respondent type (base – 754)
Respondent Type No. of respondents % of respondents
An individual 499 66%
An organisation 255 34%
Total 754[42] 100%
Table 2: Number and percentage of respondents by sector or organisation type[43] (base – 754 respondents)
Sector Type No. of responses % of respondents
Culture (arts or creative industries) individual, organisation, group or company 649 86%
Culture (cultural heritage) individual, organisation, group or company 89 12%
Third Sector 42 6%
University/Higher Education/Further Education 31 4%
Culture - local authority or culture trust 24 3%
Other 22 3%
Representative or umbrella group 12 2%
Union or Political Party 6 1%
Culture - public body 6 1%
Faith Group 5 1%
Other public body 2 0%
Total 888 118%
Table 3: Number and percentage of respondents by Local Authority (base – 737)
Local Authority No. of respondents % of respondents
City of Edinburgh 178 24%
Glasgow City 161 22%
Perth and Kinross 36 5%
Fife 35 5%
Highland 35 5%
Dundee City 29 4%
Dumfries and Galloway 25 3%
Scottish Borders 25 3%
Stirling 23 3%
Argyll and Bute 20 3%
Aberdeenshire 15 2%
South Lanarkshire 15 2%
Aberdeen City 14 2%
North Lanarkshire 12 2%
East Lothian 10 1%
Falkirk 10 1%
Renfrewshire 10 1%
West Lothian 10 1%
Midlothian 9 1%
East Dunbartonshire 8 1%
Na h-Eileanan Siar 8 1%
North Ayrshire 7 1%
Orkney Islands 7 1%
Angus 6 1%
Shetland Islands 6 1%
East Ayrshire 5 1%
East Renfrewshire 5 1%
Inverclyde 4 1%
Moray 4 1%
South Ayrshire 3 0%
Clackmannanshire 1 0%
West Dunbartonshire 1 0%
Total 737 100%
Table 4: Number and percentage of respondents by Local Authority and respondent type (base – 489 individuals and 248 organisations)
Local Authority No. of Individual respondents % of Individual respondents No. of Organisation respondents % of Organisation respondents Total
City of Edinburgh 108 22% 70 28% 178
Glasgow City 98 20% 63 25% 161
Perth and Kinross 25 5% 11 4% 36
Fife 27 6% 8 3% 35
Highland 28 6% 7 3% 35
Dundee City 20 4% 9 4% 29
Dumfries and Galloway 15 3% 10 4% 25
Scottish Borders 16 3% 9 4% 25
Stirling 15 3% 8 3% 23
Argyll and Bute 14 3% 6 2% 20
Aberdeenshire 12 2% 3 1% 15
South Lanarkshire 12 2% 3 1% 15
Aberdeen City 7 1% 7 3% 14
North Lanarkshire 10 2% 2 1% 12
East Lothian 7 1% 3 1% 10
Falkirk 8 2% 2 1% 10
Renfrewshire 7 1% 3 1% 10
West Lothian 10 2% 0 0% 10
Midlothian 7 1% 2 1% 9
East Dunbartonshire 7 1% 1 0% 8
Na h-Eileanan Siar 7 1% 1 0% 8
North Ayrshire 6 1% 1 0% 7
Orkney Islands 5 1% 2 1% 7
Angus 3 1% 3 1% 6
Shetland Islands 2 0% 4 2% 6
East Ayrshire 3 1% 2 1% 5
East Renfrewshire 5 1% 0 0% 5
Inverclyde 1 0% 3 1% 4
Moray 2 0% 2 1% 4
South Ayrshire 1 0% 2 1% 3
Clackmannanshire 0 0% 1 0% 1
West Dunbartonshire 1 0% 0 0% 1
Total 489 100% 248 100% 737
Table 5 : Number and percentage of respondents by Urban Rural status (2-fold) (base – 737)
Urban / Rural No. of respondents % of respondents
Urban 531 72%
Rural 206 28%
Total 737 100%
Table 6: Number and percentage of respondents by Urban Rural status (4-fold) (base – 737)
Urban / Rural No. of respondents % of respondents
Larger Cities 382 52%
Mainly Rural 165 22%
Urban and Substantial Rural 149 20%
Islands and Remote 41 6%
Total 737 100%
Table 7: Number and percentage of respondents by Urban Rural status (2-fold) and respondent type (base – 489 individuals and 248 organisations)
Urban / Rural No. of Individual respondents % of Individual respondents No. of Organisation respondents % of Organisation respondents Total
Urban 349 71% 182 73% 531
Rural 140 29% 66 27% 206
Total 489 100% 248 100% 737
Table 8: Number and percentage of respondents by Urban Rural status (4-fold) and respondent type (base – 489 individuals and 248 organisations)
Urban / Rural No. of Individual respondents % of Individual respondents No. of Organisation respondents % of Organisation respondents Total
Larger Cities 233 48% 149 60% 382
Mainly Rural 112 23% 53 21% 165
Urban and Substantial Rural 116 24% 33 13% 149
Islands and Remote 28 6% 13 5% 41
Total 489 100% 248 100% 737
Table 9: Number and percentage of respondents by location of cultural or creative activities (base – 754)
Location of cultural or creative activities No. of respondents % of respondents
Within a single local authority in Scotland 229 30%
Scotland-wide 167 22%
Within multiple local authorities in Scotland (but not Scotland-wide) 141 19%
UK-wide/elsewhere in the UK 102 14%
Internationally 101 13%
Not applicable 14 2%
Total 754 100%
Table 10: Number and percentage of respondents by location of activities and respondent type (base – 499 individuals and 255 organisations)
Location of activities No. of Individual respondents % of Individual respondents No. of Organisation respondents % of Organisation respondents Total
Within a single local authority in Scotland 106 21% 123 48% 229
Scotland-wide 111 22% 56 22% 167
Within multiple local authorities in Scotland (but not Scotland-wide) 106 21% 35 14% 141
UK-wide/elsewhere in the UK 84 17% 18 7% 102
Internationally 79 16% 22 9% 101
Not applicable 13 3% 1 0% 14
Total 499 100% 255 100% 754
Table 11: Number and percentage of respondents by number of paid staff in their organisation (base – 754)
No. of paid staff No. of respondents % of respondents
Self-employed only 341 45%
1-10 158 21%
Not applicable 128 17%
More than 100 40 5%
11-25 38 5%
51-100 23 3%
26-50 20 3%
Don't know 6 1%
Total 754 100%
Table 12: Number and percentage of respondents by number of paid staff in their organisation by respondent type (base – 499 individuals and 255 organisations)
No. of paid staff No. of Individual respondents % of Individual respondents No. of Organisation respondents % of Organisation respondents Total
Self-employed only 310 62% 31 12% 341
1-10 39 8% 119 47% 158
Not applicable 98 20% 30 12% 128
More than 100 18 4% 22 9% 40
11-25 9 2% 29 11% 38
51-100 12 2% 11 4% 23
26-50 7 1% 13 5% 20
Don't know 6 1% 0 0% 6
Total 499 100% 255 100% 754
Table 13: Number and percentage of respondents by organisation’s annual turnover (base – 635)
Annual Turnover No. of respondents % of respondents
Not applicable 259 41%
£100,000-£1 million 125 20%
Less than £10,000 64 10%
Over £1 million 60 9%
£25,000-£100,000 59 9%
£10,000-£25,000 49 8%
Don't know 10 2%
Prefer not to say 9 1%
Total 635 100%
Table 14: Number and percentage of respondents by organisation’s annual turnover by respondent type (base – 381 individual and 254 organisations)
Annual Turnover No. of Individual respondents % of Individual respondents No. of Organisation respondents % of Organisation respondents Total
Not applicable 253 66% 6 2% 259
£100,000-£1 million 15 4% 110 43% 125
Less than £10,000 35 9% 29 11% 64
Over £1 million 13 3% 47 19% 60
£25,000-£100,000 24 6% 35 14% 59
£10,000-£25,000 27 7% 22 9% 49
Don't know 7 2% 3 1% 10
Prefer not to say 7 2% 2 1% 9
Total 381 100% 254 100% 635
Table 15: Number and percentage of respondents who have received funding (currently or in the past) from any of the following public sources[44] (base – 729)
Public sources of funding No. of responses % of respondents
Creative Scotland (including Screen Scotland) 375 51%
Local Authority Funding 243 33%
Public Funding Other sources 217 30%
No but would like to seek public sector funding in the future 157 22%
Scottish Government – other budgets 105 14%
Scottish Government - culture budget 92 13%
No and do not intend to seek public sector funding in the future 77 11%
Scottish Government - unknown budget 16 2%
Total 1282 176%
Table 16: Number and percentage of respondents who have received funding (currently or in the past) from any of the following public sources by respondent type[45] (base – 475 individuals and 254 organisations)
Public sources of funding No. of individual responses % of individual respondents No. of organisation responses % of organisation respondents Total
Creative Scotland (including Screen Scotland) 211 44% 164 65% 375
Local Authority Funding 113 24% 130 51% 243
Public Funding Other sources 106 22% 111 44% 217
No but would like to seek public sector funding in the future 118 25% 39 15% 157
Scottish Government – other budgets 36 8% 69 27% 105
Scottish Government - culture budget 48 10% 44 17% 92
No and do not intend to seek public sector funding in the future 70 15% 7 3% 77
Scottish Government -unknown budget 7 1% 9 4% 16
Total 709 149% 573 226% 1282
Table 17: Number and percentage of respondents who have received funding (currently or in the past) from any of the following private sources[46] (base – 701)
Private sources of funding No. of responses % of respondents
Philanthropic - charitable trust 255 36%
Philanthropic - individual donor 214 31%
Commercial income 211 30%
Philanthropic - foundation 175 25%
No but would like to seek private sector funding in the future 162 23%
Corporate - sponsorship 124 18%
No and do not intend to seek private sector funding in the future 114 16%
Corporate – social giving 70 10%
Other (please state) 60 9%
Philanthropic - other (please state) 16 2%
Total 1401 200%
Table 18: Number and percentage of respondents who have received funding (currently or in the past) from any of the following private sources by respondent type[47] (base – 454 individuals and 247 organisations)
Private sources of funding No. of individual responses % of individual respondents No. of organisation responses % of organisation respondents Total
Philanthropic - charitable trust 105 23% 150 61% 255
Philanthropic - individual donor 86 19% 128 52% 214
Commercial income 100 22% 111 45% 211
Philanthropic - foundation 69 15% 106 43% 175
No but would like to seek private sector funding in the future 130 29% 32 13% 162
Corporate - sponsorship 49 11% 75 30% 124
No and do not intend to seek private sector funding in the future 102 22% 12 5% 114
Corporate – social giving 27 6% 43 17% 70
Other (please state) 27 6% 33 13% 60
Philanthropic - other (please state) 5 1% 11 4% 16
Total 700 154% 701 284% 1401
Table 19 : Number and percentage of respondents who have received funding (currently or in the past) from any of the following third sector sources[48] (base – 634)
Third sector sources of funding No. of responses % of respondents
No but would like to seek third sector funding in the future 205 32%
Charities 188 30%
No and do not intend to seek third sector funding in the future 183 29%
Not for profit organisations 105 17%
Voluntary organisations 52 8%
Other (please state) 23 4%
Total 756 119%
Table 20: Number and percentage of respondents who have received funding (currently or in the past) from any of the following third sector sources by respondent type[49] (base – 415 individuals and 219 organisations).
Third sector sources of funding No. of individual responses % of individual respondents No. of organisation responses % of organisation respondents Total
No but would like to seek third sector funding in the future 154 37% 51 23% 205
Charities 95 23% 93 42% 188
No and do not intend to seek third sector funding in the future 131 32% 52 24% 183
Not for profit organisations 60 14% 45 21% 105
Voluntary organisations 32 8% 20 9% 52
Other (please state) 14 3% 9 4% 23
Total 486 117% 270 123% 756
Table 21: Number and percentage of respondents who have faced any difficulties applying for public sector funding (base 754)
Funding challenges No. of respondents % of respondents
Yes 478 63%
Not applicable - I/my organisation has not applied for public sector funding 146 19%
No 110 15%
Prefer not to say 20 3%
Total 754 100%
Table 22: Number and percentage of respondents who have faced any difficulties applying for public sector funding by respondent type (base - 499 individuals and 255 organisations)
Funding challenges No. of individual respondents % of individual respondents No. of organisation respondents % of organisation respondents Total
Yes 302 61% 176 69% 478
Not applicable - I/my organisation has not applied for public sector funding 124 25% 22 9% 146
No 58 12% 52 20% 110
Prefer not to say 15 3% 5 2% 20
Total 499 100% 255 100% 754
Table 23: Number and percentage of respondents who said the following reasons were why they faced difficulties applying for public funding[50] (base - 482)
Reasons for difficulties No. of responses % of respondents
There is a general lack of available funding 364 76%
The funding application process is time consuming/off-putting 297 62%
I/my organisation applied for funding but it was unsuccessful (please explain) 220 46%
I/my organisation does not have the capacity to apply for funding 108 22%
I/my organisation is not eligible for the funding that is available (please explain) 101 21%
The type of financial support or investment I/my organisation needs is not available (please explain) 97 20%
I/my organisation does not have the expertise to apply for funding 78 16%
Other (please explain) 43 9%
The advice and services I/we need are not currently provided (please explain) 37 8%
Total 1345 279%
Table 24: Number and percentage of respondents who said the following reasons were why they faced difficulties applying for public funding by respondent type[51] (base - 305 individuals and 177 organisations)
Reasons for difficulties No. of individual responses % of individual respondents No. of organisation responses % of organisation respondents Total
There is a general lack of available funding 233 76% 131 74% 364
The funding application process is time consuming/off-putting 205 67% 92 52% 297
I/my organisation applied for funding but it was unsuccessful (please explain) 138 45% 82 46% 220
I/my organisation does not have the capacity to apply for funding 68 22% 40 23% 108
I/my organisation is not eligible for the funding that is available (please explain) 52 17% 49 28% 101
The type of financial support or investment I/my organisation needs is not available (please explain) 49 16% 48 27% 97
I/my organisation does not have the expertise to apply for funding 60 20% 18 10% 78
Other (please explain) 23 8% 20 11% 43
The advice and services I/we need are not currently provided (please explain) 25 8% 12 7% 37
Total 853 280% 492 278% 1345
Table 25: Number and percentage of respondents who said the following reasons were why difficulties applying for public sector funding is not applicable to them[52] (base - 152)
Reasons for difficulties N/A No. of responses % of respondents
Other (please add detail below) 79 52%
I/We do not need additional public sector support due to self-funding 61 40%
I/We do not need additional public sector support due to receiving sufficient funding from the private sector 10 7%
I/We do not need additional public sector support due to receiving sufficient funding from the third sector 6 4%
I/We do not need additional public sector support due to receiving loans or investment from the private sector 2 1%
Total 158 104%
Table 26: Number and percentage of respondents who said the following reasons were why difficulties applying for public sector funding is not applicable to them by respondent type[53] (base - 131 individuals and 21 organisations)
Reasons for difficulties N/A No. of individual responses % of individual respondents No. of organisation responses % of organisation respondents Total
Other (please add detail below) 68 52% 11 52% 79
I/We do not need additional public sector support due to self-funding 53 40% 8 38% 61
I/We do not need additional public sector support due to receiving sufficient funding from the private sector 9 7% 1 5% 10
I/We do not need additional public sector support due to receiving sufficient funding from the third sector 4 3% 2 10% 6
I/We do not need additional public sector support due to receiving loans or investment from the private sector 2 2% 0 0% 2
Total 136 104% 22 105% 158
Table 27: Number and percentage of respondents by current and main provider of public sector support (base - 541)
Current and main provider of public sector support No. of respondents % of respondents
Creative Scotland 269 50%
Other (please state below) 108 20%
Local Authorities 61 11%
Scottish Government 46 9%
Prefer not to say 39 7%
UK Government 10 2%
Enterprise Agencies 7 1%
EventScotland 1 0%
Total 541 100%
Table 28: Number and percentage of respondents by current and main provider of public sector support by respondent type (base 326 individuals and 215 organisations)
Current and main provider of public sector support No. of individual responses % of individual respondents No. of organisation respondents % of organisation respondents Total
Creative Scotland 158 48% 111 52% 269
Other (please state below) 69 21% 39 18% 108
Local Authorities 33 10% 28 13% 61
Scottish Government 24 7% 22 10% 46
Prefer not to say 33 10% 6 3% 39
UK Government 5 2% 5 2% 10
Enterprise Agencies 3 1% 4 2% 7
EventScotland 1 0% 0% 0% 1
Total 326 100% 215 100% 541
Table 29: Number and percentage of respondents who received the following type of support from their current and main provider of public sector support (base – 473)
Type of support No. of respondents % of respondents
Financial support only 301 64%
Financial and business advice / support 55 12%
Other 55 12%
Financial and information, data or evidence provision 31 7%
Business advice or support only 17 4%
Financial and organisational / HR advice and support 14 3%
Total 473 100%
Table 30: Number and percentage of respondents who received the following type of support from their current and main provider of public sector support by respondent type (base – 275 individuals and 198 organisations)
Type of support No. of individual respondents % of individual respondents No. of organisation respondents % of organisation respondents Total
Financial support only 161 59% 140 71% 301
Financial and business advice / support 32 12% 23 12% 55
Other 42 15% 13 7% 55
Financial and information, data or evidence provision 18 7% 13 7% 31
Business advice or support only 15 5% 2 1% 17
Financial and organisational / HR advice and support 7 3% 7 4% 14
Total 275 100% 198 100% 473
Table 31 : Percentage of respondents who agree, or not, with statements about experiences with their current and main provider of public sector support (base – see table below)
Experiences Strongly agree / agree Neutral Strongly disagree / disagree Not applicable Base
They provide clear guidance 55% 19% 20% 7% 450
They fund projects which support a wide variety of individuals 54% 22% 17% 8% 454
They have a strong and robust application process 52% 19% 20% 9% 453
They provide a strong rationale for the funding they provide 49% 21% 23% 7% 455
They have a transparent application process 42% 24% 25% 9% 453
They have funds that meet my needs 41% 21% 32% 7% 453
They provide clear feedback on unsuccessful applications 31% 24% 26% 20% 451
They produce high quality best practice guidance for the sector 29% 30% 31% 10% 451
They work in partnership with others to create the best conditions for the arts, screen and creative industries to thrive 26% 36% 29% 8% 451
Their funds have evolved and developed to meet the changing needs of the sector 25% 27% 39% 8% 453
They produce high quality industry intelligence 22% 38% 29% 12% 449
Table 32: Percentage of respondents who agree, or not, with statements about experiences with their current and main provider of public sector support by individual respondents (base – see table)
Experiences Strongly agree / agree Neutral Strongly disagree / disagree Not applicable Base
They have a strong and robust application process 50% 22% 20% 9% 261
They provide clear guidance 48% 23% 22% 7% 257
They fund projects which support a wide variety of individuals 45% 26% 22% 7% 262
They provide a strong rationale for the funding they provide 45% 23% 24% 8% 262
They have a transparent application process 38% 26% 27% 9% 262
They have funds that meet my needs 36% 23% 33% 8% 260
They produce high quality best practice guidance for the sector 27% 34% 28% 11% 260
They provide clear feedback on unsuccessful applications 27% 28% 26% 19% 259
They work in partnership with others to create the best conditions for the arts, screen and creative industries to thrive 25% 37% 29% 9% 258
Their funds have evolved and developed to meet the changing needs of the sector 22% 28% 40% 10% 260
They produce high quality industry intelligence 19% 41% 27% 13% 259
Table 33: Percentage of respondents who agree, or not, with statements about experiences with their current and main provider of public sector support by organisation respondents (base – see table)
Experiences Strongly agree / agree Neutral Strongly disagree / disagree Not applicable Base
They have a strong and robust application process 56% 15% 20% 9% 192
They provide a strong rationale for the funding they provide 55% 18% 20% 7% 193
They provide clear guidance 63% 14% 17% 6% 193
They have a transparent application process 47% 21% 23% 9% 191
They provide clear feedback on unsuccessful applications 35% 18% 26% 21% 192
They have funds that meet my needs 47% 18% 30% 6% 193
They fund projects which support a wide variety of individuals 66% 16% 9% 9% 192
Their funds have evolved and developed to meet the changing needs of the sector 30% 26% 38% 6% 193
They work in partnership with others to create the best conditions for the arts, screen and creative industries to thrive 28% 34% 30% 8% 193
They produce high quality industry intelligence 25% 33% 32% 10% 190
They produce high quality best practice guidance for the sector 32% 24% 35% 9% 191
Table 34 : Percentage of respondents who agree, or not, that the following types of potential support would be useful (base – see in table below)
Potential Support Strongly agree / agree Neutral Strongly disagree / disagree Base
Representation of culture sector interests 81% 16% 3% 640
Support influencing policy on behalf of culture sector 80% 16% 4% 643
Sponsorship of groups, events or creative spaces 79% 16% 4% 649
Support promoting social impact 73% 20% 7% 638
Promoting good practice among cultural organisations 73% 21% 6% 640
Promotion and support for communication and networking between cultural organisations and statutory partners 73% 23% 5% 644
Support with applying for grants 72% 18% 9% 648
Promotion and support for communication and networking between cultural organisations 72% 22% 6% 648
The ability to share and access sector data 69% 25% 5% 639
Research and evaluation support for cultural organisations 67% 26% 7% 635
Receiving information and advice (see question below) 65% 30% 5% 640
General business / operational support for running a cultural organisation / business 61% 31% 9% 639
Support with generating trading income at home or abroad 60% 27% 13% 641
Support with procurement 45% 42% 14% 635
Table 35: Percentage of respondents who agree, or not, that the following types of potential support would be useful by organisations (base – see in table below)
Potential Support Strongly agree / agree Neutral Strongly disagree / disagree Base
Representation of culture sector interests 91% 7% 2% 233
Support influencing policy on behalf of culture sector 88% 9% 3% 236
Promotion and support for communication and networking between cultural organisations and statutory partners 82% 16% 2% 237
Support promoting social impact 82% 13% 6% 233
Promotion and support for communication and networking between cultural organisations 79% 15% 5% 239
Research and evaluation support for cultural organisations 77% 19% 4% 234
Sponsorship of groups, events or creative spaces 76% 19% 4% 238
Promoting good practice among cultural organisations 76% 18% 5% 239
The ability to share and access sector data 76% 20% 4% 234
Support with applying for grants 65% 23% 12% 234
Receiving information and advice (see question below) 60% 34% 6% 233
General business / operational support for running a cultural organisation / business 60% 31% 9% 235
Support with generating trading income at home or abroad 57% 25% 18% 232
Support with procurement 38% 47% 16% 232
Table 36: Percentage of respondents who agree, or not, that the following types of potential support would be useful by individuals (base – see in table below)
Potential Support Strongly agree / agree Neutral Strongly disagree / disagree Base
Sponsorship of groups, events or creative spaces 81% 15% 5% 411
Support with applying for grants 77% 16% 8% 414
Support influencing policy on behalf of culture sector 75% 20% 4% 407
Representation of culture sector interests 75% 21% 4% 407
Promoting good practice among cultural organisations 71% 23% 6% 401
Support promoting social impact 69% 24% 7% 405
Promotion and support for communication and networking between cultural organisations 68% 26% 6% 409
Receiving information and advice (see question below) 68% 28% 4% 407
Promotion and support for communication and networking between cultural organisations and statutory partners 67% 27% 6% 407
The ability to share and access sector data 65% 29% 6% 405
Support with generating trading income at home or abroad 62% 28% 11% 409
General business / operational support for running a cultural organisation / business 61% 30% 8% 404
Research and evaluation support for cultural organisations 61% 30% 8% 401
Support with procurement 48% 39% 13% 403
Table 37: Number and percentage of respondents who agree they would benefit from the following support in the next 12-24 months (base – 652)
Future support needs No. of responses % of respondents
Collaborating with others to succeed 382 59%
Researching new opportunities 250 38%
Developing your marketing strategy 239 37%
Developing digital capabilities 225 35%
Measuring impact 220 34%
Attracting private investment 214 33%
Attracting new and young talent 174 27%
Improving environmental sustainability 171 26%
Developing leadership capabilities 164 25%
Doing business in international markets 152 23%
Managing your intellectual property 152 23%
Developing your workforce 148 23%
Developing new products or services 134 21%
Learning new business skills 134 21%
Finding a business mentor 127 19%
Preparing a business plan for growth 120 18%
Planning for business change and succession 119 18%
Improving your business practices 112 17%
Tendering for public sector contracts 94 14%
Finding property solutions 72 11%
Recovering from business difficulties 64 10%
Starting up a new business venture 63 10%
Other (please state) 53 8%
Not applicable 45 7%
Attracting repayable / loan finance 38 6%
Total 3666 562%
Table 38: Number and percentage of respondents who agree they would benefit from the following support in the next 12-24 months by individual respondents (base – 412 individuals)
Future support needs No. of individual responses % of individual respondents Total
Collaborating with others to succeed 234 57% 382
Researching new opportunities 162 39% 250
Developing your marketing strategy 137 33% 239
Developing digital capabilities 112 27% 225
Measuring impact 99 24% 220
Attracting private investment 122 30% 214
Attracting new and young talent 73 18% 174
Improving environmental sustainability 85 21% 171
Developing leadership capabilities 76 18% 164
Doing business in international markets 95 23% 152
Managing your intellectual property 100 24% 152
Developing your workforce 56 14% 148
Developing new products or services 81 20% 134
Learning new business skills 94 23% 134
Finding a business mentor 93 23% 127
Preparing a business plan for growth 71 17% 120
Planning for business change and succession 40 10% 119
Improving your business practices 64 16% 112
Tendering for public sector contracts 57 14% 94
Finding property solutions 38 9% 72
Recovering from business difficulties 41 10% 64
Starting up a new business venture 54 13% 63
Other (please state) 30 7% 53
Not applicable 35 8% 45
Attracting repayable / loan finance 22 5% 38
Total 2071 503% 3666
Table 39: Number and percentage of respondents who agree they would benefit from the following support in the next 12-24 months by organisation respondents (base – 240 organisations)
Future support needs No. of organisation responses % of organisation respondents Total
Collaborating with others to succeed 148 62% 382
Researching new opportunities 88 37% 250
Developing your marketing strategy 102 43% 239
Developing digital capabilities 113 47% 225
Measuring impact 121 50% 220
Attracting private investment 92 38% 214
Attracting new and young talent 101 42% 174
Improving environmental sustainability 86 36% 171
Developing leadership capabilities 88 37% 164
Doing business in international markets 57 24% 152
Managing your intellectual property 52 22% 152
Developing your workforce 92 38% 148
Developing new products or services 53 22% 134
Learning new business skills 40 17% 134
Finding a business mentor 34 14% 127
Preparing a business plan for growth 49 20% 120
Planning for business change and succession 79 33% 119
Improving your business practices 48 20% 112
Tendering for public sector contracts 37 15% 94
Finding property solutions 34 14% 72
Recovering from business difficulties 23 10% 64
Starting up a new business venture 9 4% 63
Other (please state) 23 10% 53
Not applicable 10 4% 45
Attracting repayable / loan finance 16 7% 38
Total 1595 665% 3666

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