Global Connections Survey: guidance

Completing the survey online

The surveys can be completed using the online system on the Scottish Exchange of Data website.

You will be asked to enter your username and password, which you will find in the letter inviting you to take part.

You do not need to complete the surveys in one go as you can save what you have entered using the ‘save’ option and go back to it later using your log-in details.

Once you have provided all the information that you are able to, you should click the ‘save and submit’ button at the bottom of the page. A big blue ‘save and submit’ button will then appear at the top of the page. Click this button to send the completed return.

If you forget your password or need to reset it please email exports.statistics@gov.scot or phone us on 0300 244 0330.

Other ways to complete the survey

We also offer the option of completing the surveys by Excel which can then be emailed to exports.statistics@gov.scot.

How to complete the Excel forms

Enter your Unique Reference Number (URN) in the space provided at the top of the form. The URN can be found on the top left hand side of your survey letter (below your address). If you received an email then use the Reference Number given at the top of the email. We require this number so we can track who is replying to us.

Once you have completed the form, please click on the 'SUBMIT FORM' button at the end of the form and this will be attached to an email message in your operating system to send.  If this does not work, you can save the completed Excel workbook, attach it to an email message manually and send it to exports.statistics@gov.scot.

Confidentiality

All the information provided is kept strictly confidential by the Scottish Government and the partner organisations with whom we may share your responses (Scottish Development International, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Office for National Statistics).

Company specific details and any data where it may be possible to identify an individual company will not be published.

Contact information

If you have any queries relating to the survey or need any further support, please email us at exports.statistics@gov.scot. You can also leave us a message on 0300 244 0330 and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

We are grateful to all businesses that take the time to respond to the Global Connections Survey.

Length of time to complete survey

The median time for companies to complete the survey in 2019 was 30 minutes. If your company does not export, the form will take a shorter time to complete.