Research, Benchmarking & Indexing
Research, Benchmarking & Indexing
The EPI’s information gathering & research projects are planned & executed with the aim to meet both scientific research standards & provide practical information or insights that may shape the way business support or product marketing is aimed at the small business market.
Small Business Digital Progression Index
The Digital Progression Index is an ongoing research project through which a representative sample of entrepreneurs & business support practitioners are surveyed on how far they have progressed in their digital adoption journey (called Status in the Digital Progression Framework), & how prepared their businesses or organisations are for adopting new technologies (called Drivers in the framework).
The Digital Progression Index Report is available for download below:
The Index shows that currently more than half (54%) of the small business community are finding themselves in a context where they have not moved far in the adoption of digital solutions & where they are not well prepared for taking steps to introduce new solutions (see graphic). They are called “Responders” in the framework & are finding themselves on the lower left quadrant of the Digital Progression Framework.
Good news is that nearly a third (29%) of the community are in the bottom-right quadrant, known as the Arrangers. They have indeed not progressed far in adopting digital solutions, but their businesses or organisations are well positioned & prepared for taking on new solutions — they are ready for digital progressions!
Interestingly, some 16% of the community are working in businesses or organisations that have moved further on the digital adoption journey & where the drivers for change are well developed. They are Transformers, ready to make changes to their organisational culture &/or the products & services they offer.
About 1% of the community as Initiators, who are not well-prepared for change, but are testing the waters in taking on new digital solutions, but most often unsustainably so.
Small Business Support Practitioner Survey
A key factor in creating improved impact through business support services & enterprise development programmes is the role of capable practitioners.
The EPI partners with professional bodies & other ecosystem stakeholders in the Small Business Support Practitioner Survey. The aim is to provide an improved understanding of the profile of the national body of small business support practitioners & their specific needs, including their skills development preferences & the factors influencing their abilities to provide impactful support.
The last Practitioner Survey Report is available here:
The survey helps benchmark & improve the entrepreneurship support ecosystem & is implemented with the support of an industry sponsor.
Bespoke research & information gathering
Our research helps benchmark & improve the entrepreneurship support ecosystem; and guides us in our programme design & delivery.
This is why we include action research and needs assessment as key programme activities, such as with the recent assignment by African Development Bank to design & implement a programme aimed at township-based business advisors & practitioners. The EPI also completed two studies in partnership with collaborating ecosystem contributors such as universities, professional bodies & companies with an interest in improved understanding of trends in the small business market.
While ongoing information gathering forms part of all EPI activities, specific research projects are designed in partnership with research sponsors or brands wishing to understand market trends in their industry. Such research projects are scoped & a research plan is developed to reflect scientific research requirements, while meeting the practical information needs of the partners & the broader community of entrepreneurial ecosystem contributors.
