Research
We offer services in all aspects of the programme management process, from initial research and feasibility, to project and programme development, to funding and implementation, through to monitoring and evaluation. This means we can provide the full range of expertise and support you need to deliver your projects and services.
What we do
We conduct research projects and studies covering the full range of skills, employment and business issues. This includes feasibility studies into new business support services, assessments of local economies, and market research into the demand for new training products.
Our research services include:
- Feasibility and scoping studies
- Needs assessments
- Mapping exercises
- Large and small-scale surveys
- Market research
- Labour market studies
- Sector studies
- Local economic assessments
- Socio-economic studies and impact assessments
- Benchmarking studies
- Market appraisals
How can we help you?
Good quality research can help you understand the environment and market you are operating in and the needs of your target customers and service users. Our researchers will provide robust intelligence and rigorous analysis, helping you shape strategies and design projects and services based on hard evidence. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to act on the results of our research, so any recommendations we make will be practical, viable and grounded in reality.
Here's just a small selection of our recent research assignments:
Our Services
To find out more click on the links below:
Project: Graduate Business Solutions Market Research
Client: Entrust
The importance given to graduate placement programmes has grown over recent years, particularly in light of challenging employment conditions created by the recession and the greater number of graduates competing for a shrinking pool of jobs. Working with Entrust, a market leader in the provision of services for graduates in the North East, we undertook online and telephone market research investigating the impact of the recession upon, and broader attitudes towards graduate recruitment amongst SME's in the region, including users of their 'Graduate Business Solutions' portfolio. Our findings have been used to inform Entrust's thinking about the future development of its graduate programmes.
Project: Gateshead Carers Survey
Client: Gateshead Carers Association
Gateshead Carers Association (GCA) supports, advises, represents and campaigns for carers living and working in Gateshead. Between December 2010 and April 2011, New Skills worked with GCA to undertake a major survey of the needs and issues facing carers in the borough. We facilitated an initial scoping / theme setting workshop with a carers group, reviewed existing carer's surveys and strategies, designed the final survey, advised on consultation methodology and analysed survey results. This analysis is being used by GCA to inform future funding, activities and campaigning work.
Project: Entrepreneur Scholarship Programme Action Research
Client: One North East and Entrust
The NES Programme provided enterprise support to help people from disadvantaged areas and groups to start-up in business. In the North East, the NES programme operated on a significant scale, with places for around 170 potential entrepreneurs each year. In partnership with Richardson Howarth, we undertook an action research project with a cohort of NES clients, to explore their experiences as they progressed on their journey towards starting up in business. Our research has been used to inform the development of the ‘Enterprise Framework’, One North East’s new policy to spearhead the promotion of enterprise in the North East.