Research, Strategy and Action Planning

Are you looking to understand a particular market better? Do you think there might be a gap in the current market?  Are you developing strategies and action plans for the future? If so you will want to know how these changes or plans affect your services, your delivery, your partners, your customers and your income. 

In a busy environment delivering the day to day, it is often really difficult to take the time to step back, zoom out and understand the impact of the changes that are taking place around you.

Ideas for Change provide a range of services that can help you understand things as they are, by being able to take an objective approach and provide an independent opinion.  I will work alongside you and your team to help you understand and develop your particular market.

Practical research to understand a market

I will work with your organisation to undertake desk research, for example on  regional, national or international contexts, design and implement quantitative and qualitative surveys to obtain fresh up to date knowledge of your markets, or use existing information and reports to undertake SWOT analysis,

Product and service mapping and gaps analysis

I will help you map out your products and services and where they sit within the wider support offering.  This will provide you with a useful tool to understand where there is duplication and where the gaps are.  This is a useful starting point for ideas generation, and can also form the basis of any business planning or funding applications.

Developing strategies and action planning

Using practical tried and tested tools and through workshop sessions with you and your team, I will help you to develop enterprise, business support, skills or economic development strategies and action plans.  I can work alongside you providing advice and support and act as a sounding board, or with you, producing the strategies and action plans for you from the information you provide.

Here’s some I did earlier…

Training Café

I undertook practical desk research to explore the types of training cafes run nationally and internationally and the financial models developed to run training cafes.

"Sanjee is one of our key associates and she provides excellent support in terms of research and strategic analysis. She also adds immense additional value to the work we do as she has a first rate understanding of enterprise (including social enterprise) and skills and business support."

- Dorothy Kelly, Director of Dorothy Kelly Associates

Mapping of enterprise and business support products for North East Enterprise Agencies Ltd

A full mapping of over 90 products and services by product type, geography and organisation for a collaboration of Enterprise Agencies.  I developed a simple tool for the Chief Executives and Operational managers to have a snapshot of information about the entire partnerships products and services.

“Sanjee (Ideas for change) took our brief and in a very professional manner produced a clear and well presented overview of our services. Perhaps more importantly she provided useful suggestions as to how we could move forward, which in today’s changing environment provided invaluable food for thought.”

- Paul McEldon, Chief Executive of the NE-BIC

“Over the last couple of years Sanjee has worked for both NBSL and the other regional Enterprise Agencies. She concentrated on Regional Growth Fund (RGF) bid writing and the mapping of the full capabilities of the regions agencies. Throughout, Sanjee demonstrated a robust understanding of the North East regions Enterprise and Business Support agenda, and evidenced the outcomes of her work by thorough research, underpinned by an energetic and positive challenge to ensure solid recommendations. I look forward to working with Sanjee in the future.”

- Phil Langton CEO NBSL (October 2012).

Strategic Advisor on enterprise and business support

During the early stages of the development of the North Eastern Local Enterprise Partnership, I provided support to the Interim Director on enterprise and business support, producing a range of policy and strategic documents and advice on emerging national funding, Regional Growth Fund as well as the Coaching for Growth programme.

"Sanjee Ratnatunga supported the North East LEP during its formative early months of existence in 2011. Sanjee provided valuable expertise and advice to the LEP on matters relating to business and enterprise. In particular, she assisted the new LEP Board and partners as the LEP sought to understand the nature of the new BIS Business Coaching for Growth programme. She was a source of expert knowledge and counsel to me and the NELEP Interim Secretariat. I would have no hesitation in either recommending Sanjee or working with her again on future projects."

- Dr. Peter O'Brien, formerly Director, Tyne and Wear City Region and Head of NELEP Interim Secretariat