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Case study 2: Research
Sunderland City Council
Study of the City of Sunderland’s Black and minority ethnic (BME) businesses and their development, in partnership with the University of Sunderland.
The purpose of the study, commissioned in 2006 by Sunderland City Council, was to provide a profile of the BME businesses, to identify the needs of existing and future BME business owners, and to provide recommendations for future service planning drawing upon best practice from other areas. In this project we were the main researchers in a team of five.
We used a combination of desk based research, case studies, focus groups and a self completed survey. We conducted 14 in-depth case study interviews and these provided the core evidence for the study. We then related the findings from the case studies, focus groups and survey to research knowledge of BME businesses and approaches to BME business support elsewhere in the UK. Our report is currently being considered by the Council and the Local Strategic Partnership prior to dissemination.
In this project we were able to bring together several strands of our previous experience, in particular, applying our knowledge of communities and community development in a business setting. In our report we stressed the value of BME business as a major asset of the City, and its contribution to the economic development of Sunderland and its developing international outlook.