Executive Summary
In June 2000 the Ministry of Economic Development contracted a team of researchers to undertake an evaluation of the BIZ Programme. The team consisted of researchers from the Bureau for Economic Research (BERL), the National Research Bureau (NRB) and the New Zealand Centre for Research into Small and Medium Enterprises (at Massey University).
Their brief was to assess how well the BIZ programme is meeting its objectives, and in order to gain the perspective of the different groups involved (or potentially involved) in the programme, the overall research design included seven different components. The Massey University team focused on those organisations involved in delivering BIZ. They visited a number of BIZ providers and they also conducted telephone interviews with a further group of providers.
This summary presents the key themes that emerged from these interviews.
- The scope of the provider organisations that were interviewed varied widely: Some offered social services as well as assistance with economic and business development while others were more narrowly focused on the provision of specific training courses (e.g. computer training). In terms of BIZ services there was no "standard" set of services available to clients, although most could be described as falling into the four categories of i) seminars, ii) courses, iii) mentoring iv) networking.
- In terms of target groups, the providers' perception was that delivery to their women clients had been easiest to achieve. Maori were perceived as being the next easiest to deliver to, although some providers commented on eligibility issues. By contrast with the success rate in achieving targets for Maori and women, and the animated discussion that was generated on the issues relating to this, almost all respondents commented on the difficulty of achieving Pacific People targets. There was some feeling that not all the potential target groups had been recognised, particularly in reference to business immigrants and business start-ups.
- There was a variety of monitoring systems in use for counting numbers of clients from target groups, and it appeared to the researchers that their quality varied. There is a perception that there would be value in the BIZ Unit developing a single system for providers to use.
- In general there were three types of operationalmodels used by the respondents' organisations:
- Those that employ specialised trainers and expect them to run the entire programme by themselves,
- Those that do all the administrative work for the trainers and just expect them to do the face to face delivery.
- Those that take on a high level of responsibility for the entire delivery. They take a lead role in generating enquires and enrolments for the course, training and selecting appropriate trainers and tutors, designing and reviewing course content and overseeing the evaluation.
Those in the last group most often described their role as being engaged in quality control (cf. training support), and a number of these providers could be described as exhibiting best practice.
- All providers were able to identify some service improvements that they would make and most answers focused on improving the services for clients. Others addressed the problems being experienced by the provider organisations (e.g. several mentioned the benefit of charging at this point, as a way of avoiding "no-shows").
- While almost all appeared familiar with the BIZ Unit eligibility criteria, there was a large variety in responses once the researchers probed more deeply. For example there was some discussion on what constitutes an SME in New Zealand, i.e. whether it includes part time businesses, and those that may be described as "hobby" businesses. There was a degree of tension here - most of the respondents genuinely wish to help clients that approach them and find it difficult to turn them away even if they appear to be outside the eligibility criteria. There was some suggestion that this is a particular issue for Maori providers and/or Maori clients.
- Most organisations had relatively standard evaluation and quality control systems that asked attendees to assess the training received. Some of these were quite detailed and also focused on the longer-term impact on the individual or the business. Given that most of the forms were very similar in their overall intent (although the level of detail varied widely) there seems to be value in identifying best practice examples and offering them as an resource to all providers.
- There was a consistent response that charging (a nominal fee) might help minimise the numbers of people enrolling in courses who subsequently failed to attend. However, most respondents also commented on the difficulties of administering the charge, and questioned whether the cost to the organisation might outweigh the benefits gained. A smaller number of respondents said no to any charge. They were concerned that this could have a negative impact on numbers attending and that it was inconsistent with promotion that describes the courses as free.
- There was an almost unanimous perception that BIZ has had an identifiable impact on the individuals who have attended the training, based on the feedback from the evaluation forms and the direct feedback from attendees. Specific areas of impact included: personal growth,increasing motivation, developing specific skills, helping attendees build new networks, and alerting the individual to the value of continued education.
- In relation to the BIZ Unit, most respondents primarily identified contract management as its primary role. A significant number of respondents also commented on its role in disseminating information, liasing between providers, and facilitating networking. Many respondents identified services they would like the Unit to provide in the future:
- Developing of practical resources for the providers.
- Taking a stronger role in quality assurance.
- Developing of a computerised client management system.
- Becoming more active in facilitating networking between providers.
- Becoming more active in promoting the BIZ programme.
- Simplifying the reporting process.
- In terms of the performance of the BIZ Unit, an overall summary of the responses indicated that they found its staff "responsive" and "supportive".
- Questioning providers on services for Maori and Pacific People generated a diverse range of opinions that are not easily categorised by provider type: Some were of the view that Maori clients want to be part of "mainstream" services so they can network and interact with other business owners, whereas others felt that they want customised services that recognise a Maori cultural context. Here there was the suggestion that the most successful Maori business owners are those who have worked out how "to combine the best of both Maori and western values in their operations". There is also the recognition that Maori clients are often at a different and earlier stage of development in terms of their business skills and need services pitched at a different level. Another issue was eligibility: trusts are the structural form under which many Maori conduct their business operations, and these organisations are looking for the kind of services that BIZ provides. However trusts are currently ineligible for assistance.
- Overall there was overwhelming support for BIZ to continue. It was felt that more resources should be allocated and that the government needs to signal a long-term commitment to business development. A specific comment came from the Maori providers: that the programme had been slow to gather momentum with this target group, but now it has the capacity to have a considerable impact.
- However, there was considerable concern about the relationship between BIZ and BIZinfo. Several respondents suggested that more resources should be directed at BIZ training and less at BIZinfo. A particular issue was improving the system by which BIZinfo clients were referred to BIZ providers.
- In terms of what how BIZ should develop in the future, one area of concern was provision of services for new businesses. Another issue was what BIZ will do next for existing businesses. Thinking about the next phase for BIZ training, a number of respondents commented on the need for the BIZ Unit to be aware of the need to "take it up a level - targeting the businesses that are going to survive or medium sized businesses".
- A number of respondents also talked about the need to broaden the scope of BIZ beyond the provisions of i) training and ii) information to a more formally integrated package of business assistance, which could include pre-assessments, mentoring and other one-to-one interventions.
- Several respondents commented on the need to improve the contract negotiation process. Specific comments were concerned with the transparency of the negotiation/purchasing process and the ease of preparing for the negotiations.
- In terms of the contractstructure, some were happy with the degree of flexibility it offered, while others suggested a more structured framework, with a "menu" of services that the provider can pick and choose from in terms of delivery. This was thought to be particularly helpful for agencies that are new or where the individuals responsible for putting together the tender are inexperienced.
- There was an almost unanimous feeling that standardising courses across the country would be valuable, with the caveat that the standardisation should be a framework only (i.e. not a whole course in detail). There was strong feeling that this would provide a foundation/template for the providers that they could then tailor to their own local conditions and/or target groups, by for example, adding relevant local content. Most believed that this would add to the quality of the course, and would genuinely enhance the BIZ brand.
- However accrediting courses was not seen as desirable. One respondent commented that imposing accreditation of any sort would be unfair on non-accredited providers. A policy of this sort was seen as having the potential to exclude them from the provision of BIZ. There was also a perception that accrediting programmes would have an impact on the ability to provide training for free.
- There was an overwhelming desire from respondents to explore new ways of sharing best practice amongst providers.
The team also interviewed the partners of the National Business Information Service (NBIS), the organisation that is contracted to offer BIZinfo. Some of the suggestions that emerged from these interviews follow:
- Reconsider the role of the BIZ shops - either by increasing the resources available to them and/or bringing them under the direct control of NBIS.
- Consider extending scope of call centres by offering advisory services.
- Develop performance measures which "measure more than numbers".
- Review methods of delivery and resource allocation to Maori and Pacific Peoples.
- Improve communication with other government departments.
- Accredit trainers and advisors as a way of improving quality.
- Extend eligibility to include start-up businesses.
- Strengthen linkages between BIZ and BIZinfo and also with organisations like BITC.
- Improve marketing and advertising, particularly in relation to Maori and Pacific Peoples.
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