Jury Team

A report on UK Trade & Investment (UKTI)

 

This report helps better understand the performance and performance reporting of UKTI, which is a publicly-funded organisation having base in London and a network of offices in the UK and around the world.  UKTI functions as commercial departments in overseas posts and British Trade Offices.

 

UKTI – activities

 

UKTI’s services are classified under two categories - (i) Trade and (ii) Investment

 

Trade

 

According to UKTI’s reports:

 

1. 15,900 British businesses were helped to exploit overseas opportunities in 2007 – 08, and

 

1. the total added value to UK’s economy as a result of this help is £3 billion (2007 - 08) for an outlay by the taxpayer of £218 million.

 

Investment

 

According to UKTI’s reports:

 

1. it was involved in 549 of the total 1,573 successful investment projects from overseas companies over the year (2007 - 08).

 

1. 14,274 new jobs were created and 9,824 jobs were safeguarded in 549 inward investment decisions in which UKTI was significantly involved in.

 

Performance reporting - Trade

 

UKTI’s performance in trade is measured in terms of the number of companies assisted and the value this assistance generates to Great Britain’s economy. UKTI has specific trade and funding programmes planned to help British companies export. The number of British companies using these services is the number of companies assisted and the results of a survey determine the value generated to Great Britain’s economy.

 

A computer assisted telephonic survey called Performance and Impact Monitoring Survey (PIMS) contracted to an independent organisation periodically produces reports on the responses. According to the OMB Research, quote PIMS is an on-going study consisting of around 3000 20-minute telephone interviews a year with businesses that have received export related support from UK Trade & Investment. It also includes separate surveys of ‘non-users’ of UKTI services, conducted on an annual basis. unquote

 

 

The need to review UKTI

 

The outcome of this study of the reports and information published by UKTI is summarised below.

 

• 54% of UKTI staff are based out of overseas posts and they deliver 2 trade services – OMIS and trade missions.

 

• Most British companies do not receive comprehensive reports and in market support through OMIS service from overseas posts.

 

• The average customer-facing overseas staff spent less than 4 days in the entire year 2007 – 08 for OMIS related work.

 

• The average customer-facing overseas staff recruited on an average 1 trade mission delegate in 2007 – 08.

 

• The average customer-facing UK-based staff recruited on an average 1.5 trade mission delegates in 2007 – 08.

 

• There is no information on the responses to business opportunities posted on the portal.

 

• The average ITA enrolled 5 companies onto Passport to Export in 2007 – 08. Many companies have not completed the programme.

 

• Selective reporting – “Export Success” is the most reliable performance indicator to UKTI’s trade related services. PIMS captures information on “Export Success” but little information on this is reported.

 

• Almost 60% of the £3 billion economic benefit remain unaccounted.

 

• Over 60% of the 15,900 trade-assisted companies did not involve overseas staff participation.

 

• 3622 (22%) of the 15,900 trade-assisted companies in 2007 – 08 have not received UKTI’s trade services.

 

• New to Market, New to Export, users of overseas posts, significant assists, ERTA, etc. distort measurements against both performance and PSA targets.

 

• PIMS indicates that UK-based staffs are 10 times more productive than overseas staff. But, UK-based staff are regularly laid off.

 

• Significant Assists or ERTA cannot replace ‘New to Export’ and ‘New to Market’ as this tends to distort performance measurement against PSA targets even if safeguards are in place to eliminate double accounting.

 

• PIMS respondents have received financial assistance, travel grant or a subsidy. This pay out will definitely impact the quality of the survey. Therefore the result of PIMS should not be used independently.

 

• Time spent on inward investment work is negligible. The average customer-facing overseas staff was involved in 0.50 inward investment successes in 2007 – 08.

 

• UKTI spent on an average £139,334 for an inward investment success. The criteria for recording a success and the information provided do not justify this high cost.

 

• UKTI spent £76.5 million for inward investment activity in 2007 – 08. The official economic rationale for spending this amount is that 14,274 new jobs were created and 9,824 jobs were safeguarded in Great Britain.  

 

• 75% of the 549 inward investment successes were knowledge-driven.

 

• The managed migration initiative and point based immigration system indicate there is a demand for a knowledge workforce in Britain.

 

• Clearly UKTI’s inward investment activity is not helping British companies in the knowledge-driven sectors and jobs created or safeguarded by UKTI may not have benefitted the British taxpayer.

 

• It is difficult to understand how R&D and GEP initiatives benefit British businesses or British taxpayers.

 

 

The recently formed UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) could confirm that PIMS may not necessarily be the best statistical tool or method to determine UKTI’s reported results.

 

PIMS captures information on “Export Success”, which is a reliable indicator of the efficiency of an export promotion program. However, information on export success, which is quite simple to report, is not featured in any of UKTI’s reports. However, there is a tendency to excessively depend on alternatives that measure emotional outcomes and perceptions, which are reported as economic benefit with mathematical and scientific accuracy.

 

The research

 

In an attempt to determine how UKTI goes about its business generating £3 billion to Great Britain’s economy through its trade promotion services or creating 14,274 new jobs and safeguarding 9,824 more through its inward investment services, it might help by starting with looking at who does what, how and how much.

 

This report to a fairly large extent aims to do that and hopes to provide additional information required to simplify more thoroughly understand the performance and performance reporting of UKTI.

 

UKTI Staffing 2007 - 08

 

UKTI had 2,400 staff delivering specific trade and investment services in 2007 – 08, of which 1,300 were overseas staff and 1,100 were UK-based staff. The break-up is shown below.

 

Overseas Post	1,300
London and Glasgow	700
English Regions	400
Total Staff	2,400

 

According to UKTI, quote - some 90% of UKTI staff are in the frontline overseas, in the English regions, or in customer-facing service delivery in HQ. - unquote

 

This mathematically translates to 2160 UKTI staff are customer-facing delivering UKTI’s services.

 

 

UKTI Budget 2007 - 08

 

Percentage split by objective 2007 – 08:

 

UKTI service	Percentage split	In value
Trade	74%	£218 million
Investment	26%	£76.5 million*
TOTAL		£294.5 million*

*Figures are determined using official data published in UKTI Annual Report 2007 – 08.

 

UKTI’s services are classified under (i) Trade and (ii) Investment

 

UKTI’s trade services are planned to help British companies export their products or services. Overseas staff are involved in the delivery of 2 trade related services – OMIS and trade missions. Overseas staff also post business opportunities on a website.

 

List of UKTI’s trade-related services

 

UKTI Trade Service	Delivered by
Overseas Market Introductory Service (OMIS)	Overseas and UK-based staff
Trade Missions (Inward and Outward)	Overseas and UK-based staff
Passport to Export	UK-based staff
Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP)	UK-based staff
EMRS	British Chambers of Commerce
MVS	UK-based staff
Website (Business Opportunities)	Overseas and UK-based staff

 

 

Performance and activities of overseas staff

 

According to UKTI, quote - the 1,300 overseas staff are the highest priority in terms of the UK’s economic interest. – Unquote. However, later on in this report an analysis of PIMS indicates that UK-based staff are estimated to be 10 times more productive than overseas staff!

 

A complete break-up of the activities of the overseas staff in 2007 – 08 is given below.

 

Service	Unit of Measurement
OMIS	3,578 OMIS reports delivered
Trade Missions	2,600 delegates participated
Updating Sector Plans	Once a year
Updating Sector reports	Once every 2 – 3 years
Business Opportunities (Portal)	No record on the responses by British companies
Inward Investment	549

 

Note: All other trade services and activities are delivered by either UK-based staff or contracted to external agencies.

 

 

Analysing OMIS, Trade Services and Employee Performance

 

Overseas Market Introductory Service (OMIS)

 

OMIS is by far UKTI’s most important export promotion service. Both overseas and UK-based staff are involved in delivering OMIS. While most OMIS orders are commissioned by UK-based staff, all OMIS reports are delivered by overseas staff. In the case of China the delivery of the reports is outsourced to China-Britain Business Council.

 

The OMIS analysis

 

Number of customer-facing overseas staff	1,170
Number of OMIS reports delivered in 1 year 2007 – 08	3,578
Average OMIS reports delivered by 1 overseas staff in 1 year 2007 – 08	3
OMIS revenue in 2007 - 08	£2.2 million
Average cost per OMIS report	£615
Number of hours assistance provided	10 hours

 

In 2007 – 08, UKTI received 5,490 OMIS orders but only 3,578 (65%) reports were actually delivered. The average cost of an OMIS is estimated to be £615.

 

Note: A UKTI published document claims that quote 2,000 companies used the Overseas Market Introduction Service in 2007-08. unquote. The Annual Report 2007 – 08 claims quote During 2007-2008, OMIS was available online in all 99 markets where UKTI has a presence. The number of OMIS orders commissioned online over this period was 5,490 – an increase of 50% from the previous year. Over 2007-2008, 3,578 First Activities were delivered showing an increase of 46% on the previous year. Unquote © Crown Copyright 2008 URN 08/679 and Crown copyright URN 08/P29.

 

UKTI is yet to confirm which of these differing figures is true.

 

However, for the purpose of this study the figures published in the Annual Report 2007 - 08 is considered.

 

OMIS has 5 levels of service priced at £225, £450, £900, £1,350 and £1,800 and these levels refer to the depth of reporting required and basically equate to a number of hours for which assistance is provided.

 

In the above table it is estimated that the average cost of a OMIS service in 2007 – 08 is £615.

For a £615 OMIS services, a British company neither receives comprehensive market information nor in-market support from overseas posts. The British company will of courses receive contact details and if itineraries for visits are offered, it is for 1 region only within the target market. It is important to note here that across many sectors the information provided for a £615 OMIS services is normally taken off-the-shelf. In reality this further reduces the time spent by overseas staff on the OMIS than what is charged for.

 

It is difficult to imagine how British businesses may be benefitted through £615 OMIS services.

 

The recorded number of in-market support offered to OMIS users during 2007 - 08 or ideally in the last 5 years will confirm the success or failure of OMIS service on the delivery side. PIMS records “Export Success” achieved through OMIS but this information is not easy to find in the numerous reports published by UKTI. This information is required to determine the effectiveness of the export promotion programmes.

 

1,170 customer-facing overseas staff delivered 3,578 OMIS reports in 2007 – 08. The average overseas staff delivered 3 OMIS reports in an entire year 2007 – 08. It is estimated in the above table that the average cost of an OMIS report in 2007 – 08 was 10 man-hours. This indicates that the average overseas staff spends less than 4 days in an entire year 2007 – 08 for OMIS related work.

 

Interestingly, the time for OMIS works is even lower for the years 2006 – 07 and 2006 – 05 where it is estimated that less than 1 OMIS report was delivered by an average overseas staff during the course of an entire year! These performances are a part of UKTI’s existing strategy – Prosperity in a changing world.

 

It is important to remember that, OMIS is UKTI’s most important export promotion service. But, PIMS chooses to telephonically interview only 361 OMIS users out of the 15,900 companies assisted by UKTI during 2007 – 08.

 

Note: The only other trade-related service delivered by overseas staff is trade missions. Other activities of overseas staff include posting business opportunities and updating sector reports and plans. Sector plans are updated at the beginning of each year and sector reports are updated once every 2 – 3 years. The number of responses to business opportunities posted on the web site will determine the usefulness of this service. However, this important information is not divulged and hence not available.

 

In February 2008, I was informed by UKTI on OMIS Quote  - In fact, according to PIMS, OMIS helped some 1500* companies in the year, generating total estimated benefits of £383m. – Unquote

 

[*should read as 3,500 companies and not 1,500 companies as stated in the above quote, if the figures in the Annual Report 2007 – 08 is considered to be true. ]

                                                                                                            

In 2007 – 08, the average cost of OMIS was estimated to be £615 for which neither comprehensive information nor in-market support is provided. Despite this low level of service, PIMS estimates indicate £383m benefit generated to Great Britain’s economy through OMIS. Information on the estimated value generated across the different levels of OMIS service will provide more meaningful conclusions.

Of the 5,490 OMIS orders commissioned only 3,578 received the service. It is very important, UKTI has taken adequate care to include only the 3,578 companies that received OMIS reports in its total tally of 15,900 companies assisted in 2007 – 08.

 

 

Trade Missions

 

As stated earlier, the only other trade-related service delivered by overseas staff is trade mission. Information on trade mission is taken from the correspondence sent directly by UKIT. Quote - According to PIMS, some 1200 companies were helped through inward missions, and some 1400 through outward missions in the year, generating total estimated bottom-line benefits of £49m and £144m respectively. – Unquote

 

The above information indicates that 1,170 customer-facing overseas staff recruited 1200 inward mission members in 2007 – 08. Therefore, it is estimated that the average customer-facing overseas staff recruited only 1 inward mission delegate during the entire year 2007 – 08.

 

It is also indicated that 990 customer-facing UK-based staff recruited 1400 outward mission members in 2007 – 08. Similarly, it is estimated that the average customer-facing UK-based staff recruited only 1.5 outward mission delegates during the entire year 2007 – 08.

 

According to UKTI, 200 inward missions directly assisted over 3,500 individual British companies. Inward mission members are potential importers on a mission to identify British exporters. Such inward missions are planned during a trade show. It will not be very difficult for UKTI to place on record that the 3,500 British companies assisted by the 200 inward missions exported products or services to any of the 1200 companies on inward missions. In the case of inward mission measure the level of emotion or perception can be quite challenging to translate into shillings and pounds with mathematical accuracy. To measure emotion or perception during meetings with all kinds of foreign delegates during a trade fair is not possible over a computerised telephonic interview given that understanding cultural issues can be quite challenging.

 

In the case of outward trade missions, UKTI extensively uses the services of the local industry association and the pays for these services. Many will consider this to be a form of outsourcing, which significantly reduces the work of an overseas staff.

 

Passport to Export

 

According to UKTI, quote - The total number of companies, who have signed up to Passport, at April 2008, is some 11,580. Of this number, 3,996 companies are currently proceeding through Passport and 5,415 have completed. - unquote

 

According to UKTI’s Corporate Plan 2008, last year nearly 2000 companies signed up for the “Passport to Export” programme. But it has been explained earlier that not all companies signing up for Passport complete the programme.

 

In order to determine the efficiency of the program let us assume all the 2000 companies completed the programme successfully. Now, 400 ITAs (International Trade Advisor) were involved in delivering 2000 passport programs in 2007 – 08.  This averages to an ITA signing up 5 companies onto Passport to Export in 2007 – 08.   Can UKTI confirm the markets to which companies under the Passport to Export program are exporting to after completion of the program?

The Annual Report 2007-08 claims that Quote -  Features of Passport are a common International Business Review for all Passport companies; a common format for firms’ action plans; and a market selection service. This last service ensures that overseas Posts get the right amount of detailed information on Passport companies, in a consistent format, to enable them to advise on the suitability of a firm’s product for their market. Introducing a limit of up to three markets for a company during its time on Passport has helped companies to target their efforts and resources more effectively, which is especially important for smaller companies. - Unquote

 

The above quote not only indicates that UKTI has information on companies using the Passport to Export using market selection service from overseas post. This is a program specific key performance indicator that will determine the efficiency of this specific export promotion service. Information on the number of UK business under the Passport to Export receiving market selection services is most disappointing as overseas post NEVER get information of Passport companies as wrongfully claimed by UKTI.

 

Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP)

 

All other so called trade services of UKTI are more of funding programmes rather than services. This includes Tradeshow Access Programme that disbursed £8.5 million to 3,500 companies during 2007 - 08.

 

PIMS estimates that the average benefit each business supported under TAP, in terms of generating value to Great Britain’s economy was £40,000. The total value added to Great Britain’s economy from TAP is estimated by PIMS to be £140 million. The respondents to the PIMS survey are also those who have received a financial grant under TAP and other funding programs. In such cases where respondents received financial support, a survey using the PIMS parameters would be absurd, particularly when there is access to more such funding.

 

A detailed study on TAP is strongly recommended as an initial study of individual companies using TAP raises several questions on eligibility criteria and possible misuse of the scheme. This is beyond the scope of this report, which is solely focused on the performance and performance reporting standards of UKTI.  

 

The 3 Billion Pound Question

 

PIMS estimated that UKTI’s trade services generated £3 billion to Great Britain’s economy during 2007 - 08. The below matrix is designed to help decipher this claim by analysing who contributed what, how and how much.  The outcome of this simple analysis clearly indicates that the PIMS may not be the best performance measurement tool, particularly when it is the only tool available.

 

UKTI Trade Service	No. of companies	Added value
Overseas Staff and UK-based staff– contribution to value addition
Overseas Market Introductory Service – OMIS	3,578	£383 million
Overseas staff value addition (OMIS)  - A		£191.5 million*
UK-based staff value addition (OMIS)		£191.5 million*
Trade Missions (Inward and Outward)	2,600	£193 million
Overseas staff value addition (Trade Missions)                                               - B		£96.5 million*
UK-based staff value addition (Trade Missions)		£96.5 million*
Contribution of overseas staff (A+B)		£288 million
UK-based Staff – contribution to value addition
Passport to Export	2,000	Data not available
TAP	3,500	£140 million
EMRS	600	Data not available
Others	3,622	£2284 million (including Passport and EMRS)
Contribution of UK-based staff		£2712million
TOTAL	15,900	£3,000 million

 

* Equal weightage is given to both overseas and UK-based staff categories as both are involved in the delivery of OMIS and Trade Missions. The value is taken from either the response received from UKTI or the latest available official figures.

 

UKTI reported that it assisted 15,900 British companies through its trade services in 2007 – 08. But the above table indicates that 3,622 firms have not commissioned any trade service from UKTI and is therefore recorded under others. In fact, a closer look at PIMS over the last 3 years reveals that a larger number of such firms were recorded under ERTA, Significant Assist, New to Market, New to Export, users of overseas post, etc. Using such terms to categorise potential exporters is quite understandable but assigning a mathematical number against each of these to project a higher number of assists is what raises the question - What qualifies as a Trade Assist?

 

Further on, it is revealed that over 50% of respondents have been included in the survey sample design and sample size of PIMS, which is one of the key reasons why questions are raised on using the results of PIMS in UKTI’s performance reporting.

 

The above table shows that 1,300 overseas staff were involved in assisting 6178 of 15,900 British companies assisted during 2007 – 08. On an average, an overseas staff assisted 4.75 British companies in 2007-08 compared to the average UK-based staff assisting 14.44 British companies during the same period. This indicates that UK-based staff are relatively more productive than overseas staff. The above table also indicates that 1,300 overseas staff generated £288 million to Great Britain’s economy in 2007 – 08 compared to 1,100 UK-based staff’s estimated value generation of £2712 million during the same period. PIMS indicates that UK-based staffs add almost 10 times more value than overseas staff to Great Britain’s economy.

 

These are mere distortions and inconsistencies that reveal that the performance management tool - PIMS is unreliable. These distortions and inconsistencies occur as a direct result of inaccurate data collection, irrelevant estimations and attempted manipulation in the research process, problem definition, design, selection of the random sample, collection of data and interpretation. Users of a £615 OMIS report or a trade mission delegate cannot measure parameters such as changed behaviour, increased R&D and estimated value over a computer-assisted telephone call. There are far too many parameters to be confirmed and standardised before publically releasing and reporting the results. This is beyond the scope of this report.

 

But it is adequate to mentioned that such distortions and inconsistencies occur when statistics is used as a trick rather than a tool. In the case of PIMS indicators such as customer satisfaction and business improvement can be used alongside “Export Success” and not instead of “Export Success”. UKTI’s export-related services are planned exclusively to help British companies export. As a result of this “Export Success” the British company will generate economic benefit to Great Britain as explained in the numerous reports on economic rationale commissioned by UKTI and BIS (formerly known as BERR and DTI).

 

The above break-up indicates the different categories and number of respondents to the PIMS computerised telephonic survey. The largest number of companies assisted comprising of over 30% of the total respondents are from the categories English Regions Trade Advisors, Direct user of overseas post, New-to-Export, New-to-Market and Significant Assists. This report clearly indicated that over 50% of those surveyed by PIMS are from this 30%. In reality no such UKTI export related service exists. In fact, according to PIMS quote  - English Regions Trade Advisors (ERTA) covers those firms not also receiving support under the Passport scheme.  – Unquote.

 

While PIMS has made it very clear what ERTA is not, it has failed to explain what ERTA is. These are terms coined to include all possible face-to-face, email and telephonic interactions with British firms with the objective to increase the total number of British companies assisted in a given year. The purpose of PIMS is further defeated by the act that the majority of respondents to the PIMS computerised telephonic survey are from these non-user categories. It is rather difficult to imagine how such one-time brief interactions can improve business performance, increase R&D, change the behaviour of a company or even generate measurable value to Great Britain’s economy. The truth is, during such interactions British firms are only provided information on how to commission a UKTI trade service. This is in line with the irrational charging policy of UKTI. 

 

Before we move on to the section on investments, it must be noted that according to PIMS estimations OMIS adds only 12% of the total estimated value of £3 billion generated to Great Britain’s economy. At least half the value added as claimed by UKTI is unaccounted under questionable export promotion services.

 

INVESTMENT RESULTS

 

UKTI reported that it was involved in 549 of the total 1,573 successful investment projects from overseas companies in 2007 – 08.

 

Quote -

 

449 successes were delivered in 2005-06 and 496 successes in 2006-07; of these 75% and 71% respectively were knowledge driven.

 

By the end of March 2008, 549 successes had been reported, of which an estimated 75% were knowledge-driven as a result of UKTI support.

 

UKTI and (R)DAs make every reasonable effort to report all eligible non-involved “successes”. A number of sources are used such as local press, national & international online alerts/information subscriptions and (R)DAs subregional partners.

 

-          Unquote

 

UKTI classifies its inward investment targets under RDA priority, Good Quality and High Value. This classification determines the amount of time and resources dedicated by UKTI to an inward investor. RDA priorities are given only basic information and very little time and resources. In the case of companies falling under Good Quality and High Value categories, a client presentation (CP) is delivered by Business Group. A client presentation is a power point presentation that provides information required to set up an office in Great Britain. Therefore, in reality the total number of client presentations delivered is the number of companies actually assisted by UKTI.

 

Information contained in client presentations is provided by business consultants, HR firms, accountants, lawyers and even bankers.  All overseas companies engage the services of such service providers to register their office, sign a property lease document, open bank accounts, apply for work permits or recruit staff. The truth is that UKTI has no significant role to play whatsoever in inward investment. But £76.5 million or 26% of UKTI’s budget was used for inward investment activity in 2007 – 08. The amount has been further increased for 2008 – 09. This is completely absurd.

 

Further, according to UKTI quote - UKTI and (R)DAs make every reasonable effort to report all eligible non-involved “successes”. – Unquote. One will naturally ask why should effort be made to report non-involved successes?  All such “non-involved successes” need to be immediately deleted from the 549 inward investment projects UKTI has reported  to have assisted. The number of client presentations delivered and the BG3 forms received from overseas companies is all what is required to measure the performance of UKTI’s inward investment initiative.

 

According to official sources, an allocation of £76.5 million resulted in 549 UKTI assisted inward investment successes. The average cost per inward investment success is £139,334. However, considering the fact that RDAs also allocate resources for inward investment activity and that not all inward investor are of High Value or Good Quality, the estimated average amount spent on each success is much higher.  

 

According to UKTI its inward investment initiative has created 14,274 new jobs and safeguarded 9,824 in the 549 inward investment decisions in which UKTI was significantly involved in.

 

But in the same report UKTI also states that 75% of the 549 inward investment successes were knowledge-driven. The managed migration initiative and point based immigration system were implemented to bring knowledge workers to Great Britain. These programmes are introduced as there is a huge demand for trained professionals in the knowledge-based sectors. Having said this, UKTI’s inward investment activity has been contributing to the serious labour problems faced by British companies operating in the knowledge-driven sectors. Secondly, the jobs created or safeguarded by UKTI’s inward investment initiative have definitely not benefitted the British taxpayer. This indicates that the inward investment work done by UKTI does more harm than good to British businesses and brings no benefit to British taxpayers.

 

What makes Great Britain truly “Great” are the inherent characteristics of the entire nation. Great Britain is right at the top of the table for preferred destinations for FDI and UKTI is wrongfully taking credit for this. However, it can take limited credit for providing information to an investor if a client presentation has been delivered and the assistance has been confirmed in a rationale manner.

 

To develop deeper understanding on inward investment support it is absolutely necessary to acknowledge the fact that overseas firms expanding their operations in Great Britain rely on their internal management and colleagues rather than UKTI’s inward investment teams. In cases such as expansions or M&As, UKTI has absolutely no role to play. UKTI should refrain from taking credit for expansion or M&A activity reported in the media. Likewise, UKTI can never be discredited for increase in outbound investment or the downsizing or closure of a business in Great Britain.

 

According to UKTI, in order for inward investment success to be recordable, UK Trade & Investment has to be able to demonstrate a significant involvement in any two of the following areas.

 

a.       arranging a regional tour

b.      arranging a location search

c.       providing other significant information

d.      preparing a tailor-made presentation

e.       following up a lead generated from Development Agency, promotional event/activity

The criteria for recording a success and the information provided in a client presentation do not justify the fund allocated for inward investment activity.

 

Overseas staff and Business Group are involved in inward investment work. UKTI claims that in 2007 – 08, 549 projects were won by it. The average customer-facing overseas staff was involved in less than 0.50 inward investment successes in the entire year 2007 – 08. This indicates that the time spent on inward investment work by customer-facing overseas staff is negligible.

 

One of UKTI’s five PSA targets is quote - Improve the UK’s ranking within Europe in terms of the GDP-adjusted stock of EU foreign direct investment based on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report. – unquote

 

This cannot be a PSA target for UKTI as it cannot relate its investment work to the UNCTAD rankings in any logical manner.

 

UKTI has reported to have achieved all the PSA targets set by HM Treasury. While on the surface all seems well, a closer examination of the PSA targets and CSR indicators used by UKTI reveal a completely different story. This again is beyond the scope of this report.

 

UKTI Portal & Business Opportunity

 

Overseas staff post Business Opportunity on the UKTI trade portal. There is no official report on the number of responses received to these posting or even the number of Business Opportunities posted. However, according to the annual report Quote - In 2007-08 there were over 8,000 new UK business registrations and 3.2m page views. – Unquote

 

The two standard parameters used when reporting any website traffic statistics are number of visitors and number of page views. It appears to be convenient for UKTI to provide information on only one of these two key parameters. UKTI has reported that there were 3.2 million page views in 2007 – 08 but there is no data available on the number of visitors. Stating that there were 3.2 millions page views in 2007 – 08 conveys that there is a strong demand for UKTI information by British companies. But this message must be supported by providing required information on the number of visitors. Further, before reporting on the number of visitors, adequate measures should be taken to ensure that the visits by UKTI’s own staff are not counted in as UKTI staff use the very same website to record CRM activities, post and review Business Opportunities, update sector reports and modify and update website content, etc. The ratio of page views per visitor (non-UKTI staff) gives a more honest report on the utility of the portal and demand for information posted. However, it would be necessary to measure the responses to Business Opportunities posted on the portal.

 

The demand for sector reports should be measured by counting the number of downloads of individual sector reports.

 

UKTI also claims that 2,700 companies increased their R&D as a result of UKTI support (Source: UK Trade & Investment Corporate Plan 2008). UKTI export promotion programmes are planned to help British companies win export orders and not to increase their R&D. Increasing R&D is not the mandate of UKTI. However, as a result of its inward investment work UKTI might have increased the R&D spending of British firms.

 

R&D and GEP

 

There is no clear benefit to either the taxpayer or individual British businesses on UKTI’s R&D and Global Entrepreneurs Programme (GEP) initiatives. As mentioned earlier, increasing the R&D of overseas companies or helping overseas entrepreneurs is not the mandate of UKTI. UKTI must focus exclusively on helping British companies export.

 

As already discussed in detail, helping overseas companies increase R&D in Great Britain will only result in increased R&D spending amongst British firms and increased demand and costs for knowledge workers. This works against the interest of British firms and the taxpayer and could result in financial loss to both the individual British companies and the Exchequer. A computerised telephonic survey may not be required to confirm this.

 

Characteristics of PIMS

 

The UK Statistics Authority should note the following characteristics of PIMS.

 

Companies assisted	Sample size	Percentage (Service)	Percentage (Sample size)
15,900	3,207	20%	100%
OMIS	Sample size
3,578	361	10%	11%
Trade Missions	Sample size
2600	211	8%	6%
Passport to Export	Sample size
2000	360	18%	11%
TAP	Sample size
3,500	290	8%	9%
EMRS	Sample size
600	72	12%	2%
Others	Sample size
3622	1913	52%	59%

 

• A computerised telephonic survey that lasts 20 minutes
• The respondents of the survey have received a financial grant
• The respondents are replying to queries on their own business performance
• The respondents are replying to services offered by a government department that has provided them with financial support or a subsidy and more support is available
• The respondents’ identity is known and responses are placed on record
• The survey results would be affected if the users of the trade service have delegated the task of responding to someone else
• PIMS is an independent survey. Can UKTI confirm that it was not involved in the structuring of the questionnaire or selection of the sample design?
• The largest number of respondents are those who did not use a UKTI trade service. These non-users have reported the highest value generation to Great Britain’s economy.
• PIMS indicates that non-users of UKTI’s trade services generate greater value to Great Britain’s economy than users of UKTI’s trade services!
• The PIMS reporting is selective
• The PIMS research methodology is inappropriate for UKTI’s performance reporting. It might serve other purposes though.
• The result of PIMS forms the very basis of UKTI’s Annual Reports, The House of Commons’ Reports and other department reports.
• ‘New to Export’ and ‘New to Market’ is replaced by ERTA and Significant Assists. This replacement enables PIMS to include non-users of UKTI’s services and this has a direct impact on the PSA targets.

 

Conclusion

 

The numerous economic rationale reports that justify UKTI’s trade and investment activities are not without their contradictions. In the context of this report it is sufficient to say that UKTI’s inward investment initiative helps overseas firms internationalise thereby providing a market entry into Great Britain and even Europe. The very same economic rationale that justifies UKTI’s trade services to British companies is applicable to these overseas companies as well.  

 

UKTI has had 3 strategies in 5 years but had trouble in getting it right. Despite the enormous support UKTI has received from numerous research reports in both trade and investment from universities and leading consulting firms, the organisation has not delivered.

 

Regarding PSA targets and CSR indicators, these are excellent measures introduced to ensure quality public service from government departments. But these can be very easily manipulated and sometimes even be misused in an attempt to cover up government’s failure to deliver public good. Public funds should used judiciously and it is the responsibility of public servants to constantly seeks better ways to serve the public.

 

 

The titles of the documents quoted / referred to while preparing this report are given below and as required these documents are acknowledged as Crown Copyright material.

 

Quoted

1. UK Trade & Investment, Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08
2. UK Trade & Investment, Corporate Plan 2008
3. UKTI Performance And Impact Monitoring Surveys
4. UK INWARD INVESTMENT 2007/2008, Report by UK Trade & Investment
5. UK Trade & Investment, Kick-start your success in world markets - Helping your business to internationalise

 

Referred

1. House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee, Marketing UK plc—UKTI's five-year strategy, Sixth Report of Session 2006–07
2. 2004 – 2005 STUDY OF THE RELATIVE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF UK TRADE & INVESTMENT SUPPORT FOR TRADE AND INWARD INVESTMENT: Final Synthesis Report MARCH 2006
3. DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, Annual Report and Accounts 2006-07, JULY 2007
4. DTI ECONOMICS PAPER NO.18, International Trade and Investment – the Economic Rationale for Government Support, JULY 2006
5. Review of the evaluation evidence on trade promotion, Final Report to UKTI, Department of Trade and Industry, by SQW Ltd
6. UK TRADE & INVESTMENT, REVISED EFFICIENCY TECHNICAL NOTE (1st REVISION),  OCTOBER 2005
7. SQW’S IMPACT EVALUATION OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE TEAMS REPORTED ON 18 OCTOBER 2006, UKTI RESPONSE TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS
8. UK Trade & Investment, Annual Report and Accounts 2006-07
9. UK Trade & Investment, Annual Report and Accounts, 2005-06
10. Research and analysis of overseas representation, Final Report, Arthur D. Little
11. RBG, Reading Business Group, Evaluation of the Trade Development Strategies of UKTI Sectors Group: Stage 2, Final Report to UK Trade & Investment, Revised 20 November 2007
12. UK Trade & Investment, Prosperity in a changing world.
13. UKTI, Telephone Survey of UK Trade & Investment’s Inward Investment & Trade Development Customers and Non-Users  - OMB Research

 

__________________________________   END ___________________________________

My blog can be found at http://JuryTeam.yolasite.com

This site has hundreds of members who, by definition, are internet social-media friendly.  Can I ask all of you to start following the Jury Team on Facebook & Twitter and more importantly,  start commenting on articles or replying to and re-tweeting tweets?

The more of a ripple we create online, the more chance candidates have of recognition on the streets and on the doorsteps.

We need the name Jury Team mentioned as often and as widely as possible.

The provisional list of candidates (and I apologise for any unintended omissions - this is just a quick update) for Jury Team is as follows -

Epsom & Ashtead Michael Guest
Birmingham Northfield Graham Burton
Dover Anthony Sansum
Bristol South Roger Whitfield
South Dorset Michael Clayton
Brent South Afsin Payravi
Graham Ross
Kingston Upon Thames David Carter
Barking Alex Cartwright Obasola
Jemma Mansel
North Somerset Daniel Davies
Wythenshawe & Sale East William Jones
Chatham & Aylesford Heather Kavanagh
Lewisham West and Penge  Paul Judge
Nuneaton Steve Diffin
Hastings & Rye Andy Dumas
Suffolk Coastal Andrew Parker
Neath John Donovan
Jules Sherrington
Edinburgh North & Leith Frank Kelly
Elizabeth Warren
Gravesham Alice Sakura Dartnell
Middlesborough Derrick Arnott
Joshua Skoczylis
Bournemouth East Steven J Humphrey
Anant Vyas
Sleaford & N Hykeham Andrew Moore
Keith Kennaugh
Forest of Dean John Muir
Gillingham Alan Collins
Dagenham & Rainham Gordon Kennedy
David Hitchman
Arundel & S Downs Mark Mason
Bridgwater WR Cudlipp

This is NOT a complete list, nor is it a settled one. As you all know, Jury Team candidate selection is very much an online process. The website was designed to handle regions for the Euros and has had to be rebuilt and re-formatted for the Parliamentary elections. Look to see the website open for applications within the next 7-8 days.

How do Jury Team people feel about the Alliance for DEmocracy? Is it a good thing that Jury Team are now linked to Veritas, the Christian Party and the English Democrats? Will this give the Jury Team a better chance at the General election?

“The Alliance for Democracy is an Alliance of political parties who together polled 719,655 votes in the 2009 EU Elections, jointly campaigning in the 2010 UK General Election for much-needed practical and political reform”

Referenda for the People	- on European Union membership to control our borders and halt immigration.
Fairness for the People	1) English Parliament in England 2) Scottish Referendum on independence in Scotland 3) Welsh Parliament
Justice for the People	- Army Style punishment “Boot Camps” for convicted criminals
Nationality of the People	-Citizenship is a privilege not a right – no convictions for 10 years.
Reform for the People	Proportional representation in elections.

http://www.alliancefordemocracy.info/

A general election is looming so I appeal to everyone who supports the JT and seriously wants to further our cause to please contact us urgently. We will need help on the ground in all areas. Please contact us with your details and the areas that you could lend a hand to, so that we can begin to organise a strong election campaign.

Thank you.
Steve Diffin

should we not hold a party conference before the general election in May.  it wassaid that we hold off until the glasgow by election was over.

we should do this ASAP

I work in Birmingham and this is part of my heritage as a Brummie.

We need to make sure Cadbury stay in British hands. Just down the road from Cadbury was Rover at Longbridge. Rover does not exist today as we have all seen on the news and the Cadbury site is tiny compared to what Longbridge used to be.

So please sign the petition

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/CadburyBritish/

graham

Moved by the courage & sacrifice of PC Bill Barker, he has 4 children (as i have) who will miss him dearly but particularly on his birthday. He would have been 45 yesterday.
  How long can the govt defend the sustained casualties in Afghanistan. I heard it said that Gordon Brown has yet to oversee the return of any of our fallen soldiers yet he can visit flood victims in Cumbria.  Is this freakish weather real proof of climate change?

It is all very quiet on here.

Perhaps we are spending too much time licking our wounds after last week.  But the clock ticks on towards the 2010 election.

Lets stop naval gazing and perhaps bash ourelves into some shape that may give us a fight chance of getting ourselves elected.  Please have a listen of the week in westminster 21/11/09 at link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nwyqq

and the independents network that offers advice (bootcamp) in preparing for election. I shall be taking their advice for my campaign and will stop my naval gazing and take some action. Please see the independents network at:

http://www.independentnetwork.org.uk/Coverage.html

Good luck all and lets move on from Glasgow North East, learn the lesson and give the 2010 election a proper go.

Kind regards

William Jones