Harnessing the Power of Provenance to help food and drink businesses flourish

The Knowledge Bank is a service operated by the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership, supporting the Scottish food and drink sector through the provision of market research, insights and knowledge.

At 56 Degree Insight we’ve been delighted to have the opportunity to work with The Knowledge Bank over the last few years, undertaking a range of research projects to collect insights on consumer and trade opinions, with research methods used ranging from in-depth one to one interviews with chefs to large scale surveys of the Scottish population.

A common theme that cuts across all of the studies we’ve undertaken for The Knowledge Bank is the importance of provenance and, in particular, the available of produce which is made in Scotland.

This is the theme of the video launched by The Knowledge Bank last week, featuring some of the key findings from the consumer research we’ve undertaken over the last few years, highlighting the high (but often unmet) demand for Scottish produce which is driven by perceptions of local produce being of better quality and more environmentally sustainable plus a desire to support local businesses.

It is notable that while 89% of Scottish consumers want to buy more Scottish produce and 53% are willing to pay more for local, as things stand Scottish brands only account for around 5% of food and drink sold in Scotland.

Watch the video to find out more and hear recommendations on how food and drink businesses could make the most of this demand by taking steps such as ensuring Scottish produce is clearly signposted and promoted in store and capitalising on Scottish events such as Hogmanay, Burns Night and local celebrations.

With unprecedented international events including Covid-19, Brexit and the war in Ukraine impacting upon the world’s food supply chains and rising consumer concerns over the quality and environmental sustainability of the food and drink they consume, the appeal of local produce is set to continue to grow. However, with food inflation at its highest levels since the mid 70s, many consumers may feel that they are forced to compromise when making grocery decisions.

Given the many uncertainties in the market we will continue to closely monitor Scottish consumer attitudes and behaviour through our work with The Knowledge Bank and our own self funded studies including our quarterly Scotland’s Viewpoint.

If you’d like to access the research featured in The Knowledge Bank provenance video in full and many other resources you can sign up for full access here or get in touch with Duncan or Jim at 56 Degree Insight and we’d be happy to help.

How do Scots engage, protect and benefit from our natural environment?

The latest wave of Scotland’s People and Nature survey launches this spring, providing updated insights on how the population is engaging with, protecting and benefitting from nature

In December we were delighted to be commissioned by NatureScot to undertake the latest wave of their Scotland’s People and Nature Survey (SPANS).

Scotland’s People and Nature Survey will measure how people living in Scotland use, enjoy and value the natural environment.  It will cover a wide array of topics, ranging from the details of visits taken to the outdoors for recreation (from local greenspaces to National Parks) and the health and wellbeing benefits gained from time in nature to the day to day actions we take to protect nature.

We’re especially pleased to be working on the new SPANS contract given our previous long history working with NatureScot and (their predecessor) Scottish Natural Heritage on surveys measuring how Scots engage with nature. Indeed, our experience dates back to before 2003 when (as young researchers working for System Three!) we worked with SNH to develop the Scottish Recreation Survey. The Scottish Recreation Survey ran continuously for 10 years before relaunching as SPANS in 2013 and collecting insights right up until the first Covid 19 lockdown began in March 2020.

With a large annual sample size (12,000), invaluable data on how the Scottish population engage with nature were collected over this period. Trends recorded included an overall growth in the volume of visits taken for outdoor recreation - especially visits involving time in close to home, urban greenspaces and an increasing share of visits motivated by health and wellbeing.

We found that these trends accelerated during the 2020 and 2021 periods of Covid 19 lockdown when NatureScot commissioned 56 Degree Insight to undertake three waves of research to measure how the population was behaving and feeling during the pandemic. This research showed how during these difficult times many of us increased our frequency of visits to local outdoor places such as parks and path networks, relying upon these vital places as somewhere to escape to exercise, unwind, reconnect with nature and spend time with family and friends.

The 2023/24  Scotland’s People and Nature Survey will involve 12,000 online interviews undertaken between April 2023 and March 2024 providing updated insights on how the population is engaging with, caring for and benefitting from nature.

Look out for more updates on progress and results as they are published here or visit NatureScots’ measuring participation webpage here

The impacts of the housing crisis on business in Skye and Lochalsh

During the last 4 months we’ve been working on an important study, commissioned jointly by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Lochalsh & Skye Housing Association, SkyeConnect Tourist Destination Management Organisation and The Highland Council, which has sought to measure the impacts of the lack of affordable housing in Skye and Lochalsh on businesses, in particular their efforts to recruit staff.

The study has involved a mixture of approaches including an online survey of 143 businesses and ten one-to-one in depth consultations with a range of organisations operating in the area (including representatives from several larger private sector companies, the NHS and housing organisations).

The survey results were published earlier this month, revealing that the scale of the problem is significantly worse than public agencies had previously estimated. Headline findings from the research included the following:

• Between 1300 and 1700 job vacancies are currently unfilled because of the lack of accommodation.

• 2 in 5 businesses are currently experiencing recruitment problems with the most significant issues amongst businesses with 5 employees or more

• 29% of businesses have offered a job to an individual who has decided not to take the role. Accommodation issues were mentioned in 50% of these cases

• 1 in 5 people employed in businesses in the area live outside Skye and Lochalsh and 1 in 4 don’t live in their own home

• 25% of businesses expect the number of positions they need to fill to increase over the next three years

• 65% expect recruitment of permanent posts to get harder and 58% expect the situation to worsen in relation to seasonal posts

Our report concluded that the housing shortage is already impacting on the local economy with many businesses forced to reduce the services they deliver or choosing to not invest in the growth of their business. Looking ahead, the chronic lack of supply of affordable housing is constraining economic growth and limiting the ability of businesses to respond to development opportunities across the area.

However, respondents to the study also highlighted that there are many potential solutions to the problems including more investment in all forms of affordable housing. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and government policy needs to be adaptive and sensitive to remote and island needs.

As shown below the release of the report has generated much interest in the press. Our clients for this project will now use the results from the survey to lobby Governments and other public and private sector agencies for the investment they feel is required to alleviate the housing crisis and protect the economy of Skye and Lochalsh.

We look forward to continuing to support our clients for this project in the sharing of results. If you would like to find out more about the research please get in touch.

Tracking business performance and confidence in the Cairngorms and Moray & Speyside

Over the last year we’ve been working with Cairngorms Business Partnership to undertake their Cairngorms Business Barometer, a quarterly survey of businesses operating in the Cairngorms National Park tracking a range of areas including numbers of customers, levels of turnover and expectations for the future. In late 2021 we were delighted to be commissioned by Visit Moray Speyside to work with them to launch a similar survey - the Moray Speyside Business Barometer - in their area with the first wave of this new survey completed last month.

Both surveys involve the quarterly completion of a short online questionnaire amongst a sample of businesses, providing details on levels of business during the last 3 months, expectations for the future, general levels of business confidence and the impact of a range of ‘barriers’ on levels of business. The survey approach also allows for the inclusion of a set of ‘hot topic’ questions on a subject of particular interest at that point.

Reflecting the nature of the economy in both areas, while participating businesses are largely involved in the tourism industry, the types of businesses participating is wide ranging, including accommodation providers, retailers, hospitality businesses and food and drink manufacturers. In return for participating, businesses receive rapid access to the survey reports and a personalised summary of the results comparing their own performance and outlook with the averages for businesses across their area.

We published the 2022 Quarter 1 results from both of the Barometers this week, reporting on how businesses in each area had performed during the first three months of the year and their expectations for the rest of 2022 and beyond.

In both surveys the results provided a fairly mixed picture. With the relaxation of Covid restrictions and international tourism markets starting to return, business levels have certainly improved for most in comparison to the same time last year. And in both surveys most businesses indicated that they expect increased levels of business this year and levels of confidence for the short (3 months), medium (12 months) and longer term (24 months) are all slightly above the averages normally seen for this time of year, even pre-pandemic.

However this post pandemic optimism is tempered by growing operational concerns over rising supplier and energy costs, with many businesses already experiencing significantly increased costs and nearly all anticipating hikes during the next 12 months. Staffing concerns are also continuing to present a significant challenge for some businesses as a combination of factors mean that many struggle to fill vacant positions.

Click on the links below if you’d like to find out more about the Cairngorms Business Barometer or Moray Speyside Barometer (or to find out how to take part if you are a business based in either area!) or get in touch with us if you’d like to hear more about the surveys or opportunities to  establish up a Business Barometer in your region.

https://www.cairngormschamber.com

https://morayspeyside.com/barometer/

Provenance, sustainability, country of origin and trends impacting on the foodservice channel – The Chef’s Perspective

Introduction 

In late March we were delighted to be invited to present at The Knowledge Bank’s Foodservice Channel conference at the EICC, sharing the findings of research which explored the views of chefs on the trends impacting upon their menu and ingredient choices.

The study involved a range of research approaches including 14 in-depth interviews with chefs from a variety of types of establishments across Scotland, a focus group with student chefs and a UK wide online survey of over 200 chefs.

Adapting to survive 

We heard from our chefs about how difficult the last two years has been and how their businesses have changed their ways of operating to survive. However, as we emerge from the pandemic many of the chef’s we spoke to told us how changes initially made as a result of Covid-19 restrictions would be continued longer term as they’d been welcomed by customers and/or they provided more profitable ways of operating.

These changes included simplified menus, offering eating at home options, reduced opening hours and, for some, a diversification into new areas such as takeaway coffees or bakery. The pandemic has also driven some hospitality businesses to adopt technology in ways that they would not have considered before, for example at table ordering via a smartphone app, providing additional menu information via QR codes or increasing the use of social media to stay engaged with customers and local communities. 

Food and drink trends here to stay 

The research also uncovered a number of other interrelated trends which began before Covid but accelerated during the pandemic and look set to continue into the longer-term future. These included…

• Environmental sustainability – a vital area, increasingly important to many chefs and consumers and driving a number of the other trends seen including veganism, awareness of food miles and provenance and concerns over packaging.

• Plant based and vegan – an area of rising demand predicted to continue to grow fast, in part because of rising concerns over the environment but also due to customers becoming more aware of the health benefits of the food and drink they consume and the origins of ingredients.

• Rising awareness and concerns over allergens – a general increased desire amongst consumers for transparency over the ingredients in the food and drink they consume and new legislation such as Natasha’s Law.

• Health and wellbeing – growing in importance both in terms of consumer awareness of the health benefits of the food and drink they choose to consume but also a growing importance of promoting wellbeing amongst staff working in the hospitality sector.

• Experiential dining – many of the restaurateurs and caters we spoke to were increasingly looking to provide diners with a unique experience which would leave them with lasting memories.

• Provenance/ slow food – we heard how customers are also seeking more authentic food, made with love, made by smaller local/community producers and with a clear provenance.

• Booming interest in food and drink – all of these trends are set within the context of consumers taking more interest and caring more about the food and drink they consume. This trend is driven by both social media and the significant numbers of programmes on television about cooking, baking, food production, etc. Customers are much more knowledgeable than before, more appreciative and adventurous but also more demanding!

The importance of Provenance

One of the key areas we focused upon in the research was Provenance. After being provided with a short definition of food provenance (“knowing where food was grown, caught or raised, how it was produced and how it was transported”) 3 in 5 of the chefs included in our UK wide survey indicated that this was something that was very important to them when they were making decisions on ingredients to include on menus.

When asked to explain why they felt this way, responses included including a desire to support local producers, the pride in using quality produce with known provenance and the promotional value of being able to tell a story around menu items.

The in-depth interviews provided an opportunity to explore this area in more detail; we found that promoting high quality produce with a clear provenance often reflected a chef’s own personal or business ethos, including a desire to operate an environmentally sustainable business.

Many of the chefs also valued the importance of building positive, trusted relationships with other businesses in their local area, particularly those that shared their values. 

Also, when we talked to our Scottish based chefs about food and drink produced in Scotland response was almost entirely positive with Scottish produce felt to offer many benefits.

First and foremost, we heard how offering Scottish produce on the menu would meet their customer’s demands. For Scottish residents this appeal existed due to a combination of practical reasons, such as an expectation of greater quality and freshness, and more emotional reasons such as a sense of pride and desire to support producers in the local community. For visitors to Scotland, Scottish produce also provided a way for them to try something different from the norm, enhancing their visit experience.

Our chefs provided lots of examples of trusted relationships with local suppliers and producers and all of this added to the appeal of buying Scottish and while buying local could be more expensive, this wasn’t necessarily always the case and there was a recognition that offering dishes which were labelled as Scottish or local could support higher pricing.

Find out more

This short article has summarised a few of the key results from this new research. If you’re involved in the food and drink sector in Scotland and would like to see more of the findings, please get in touch with The Knowledge Bank

If you’d like to have a chat with the 56 Degree Insight team about how our services can help your business to better understand your customers, get in touch.

As we emerge from the Coronavirus pandemic, how are Scots feeling about returning to cultural events?

Creative Scotland have just released the latest report from the series of surveys we have undertaken for them during the Covid-19 pandemic, measuring how the Scottish population has been engaging with arts and culture during this period and their hopes and fears for returning to events and venues as restrictions are eased. 

Fieldwork for this latest survey wave took place in February 2022 with 1,105 online interviews undertaken with a representative sample of the adult population, including a ‘booster’ sample of additional 100 members of the ethnic minority population. 

Consistent with the previous three survey waves (undertaken in 2020 and 2021) half of the population told us that since the pandemic had started they had really missed the opportunity to go to cultural events and venues and, since the re-opening of venues, many had already attended or had plans to attend events and shows with levels of interest highest for cinema, live music, theatre and live comedy.

However concerns around Covid-19 remain for many with 55% of the population continuing to feel worried about the potential health impacts of the virus for them and their family, some respondents stating that outdoor and larger venues are more attractive than smaller indoor ones and, at the time of the fieldwork, just over half (55%) indicated that they supported the idea of events only being available to those who had been fully vaccinated or just obtained a negative test result.  

But as we emerge from one crisis impacting the sector another is on the horizon. Our study also showed the increasing concerns and potential impacts of the rising costs of living– 48% of the population are worried about their household finances for the year ahead and many feel that they will be less likely to attend cultural events in future as they need to save money. Most notably around half or more stated that they may be less likely to attend cinema, theatre or live music due their tightening budgets.

If you would like to find out more about this survey and view the full report visit the Creative Scotland website now or get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss our research approaches and how we can help you.

Identifying tourism growth opportunities in Aberdeenshire

In March we were delighted to be able to present the final results of a programme of qualitative research which we recently completed for VisitAberdeenshire. 

The research aimed to provide VisitAberdeenshire with a detailed understanding of the views and opinions of potential visitors to their area, exploring a number of key areas including how the pandemic has changed attitudes to domestic travel, perceptions of Scotland, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen as a destination and the actions that need to be taken to achieve ambitions to grow the value of the sector. 

To obtain the in-depth understanding of consumers views and attitudes needed a qualitative approach was used with a total of six online focus groups conducting using Zoom amongst residents of the North of England and Scotland. 

The focus groups recruitment ensured that as well as speaking to people in our selected locations, we recruited a mix of people in different lifestages (from young independents, to family and empty nesters) and people with different levels of previous experience of the region – from recent visitors to those with limited awareness of what the region offers.

The insights from this research will be used by VisitAberdeenshire and their partners to guide the actions taken as they work towards the ambitions for the region – first and foremost the planning of marketing activities which will stimulate recovery in the area’s tourism sector as we emerge from the pandemic.

If you would like to find out more about this study or other research we’ve undertaken in the tourism sector or a qualitative research offer please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

The Power of Football!

Football is Scotland’s number one sport – both in terms of participation but also in terms of the numbers who watch the game.  Per head of population, football remains more popular in Scotland than in any other European country.

The Scottish Football Association is charged with governing the game – it exists to promote, foster and develop the game at all levels in Scotland.

But of course football evolves and changes quickly, and it is important that our Governing body evolves at a similar pace.  Last year, the Scottish FA published The Power of Football, a strategic plan designed to improve the national game at all levels up to and including the FIFA World Cup in 2030.  This first stage covered the 2021-2025 period and it mapped out the association’s journey within six key pillars of activity, each with a key overriding objective:

• Qualify consistently and compete in major tournaments

• Accelerate the growth of girls’ and women’s football

• Inspire the nation through lifelong participation

• Deliver a world-leading coach education and development system

• Modernise the Home of Scottish Football

• Connect Scottish football’s diverse communities

You can read the strategy in detail here.

The 56 Degree Insight team have been working with the Scottish FA over a number of years to better understand the requirements of all of its stakeholders – from players and coaches through to spectators of the national teams as well as club football.

Last year, the Scottish FA and UEFA commissioned us to undertake a comprehensive qualitative study amongst football supporters to better understand how they felt about the Scottish FA and its role. How could it improve and where should it be focusing?  This fed into the development of the Power of Football strategy, and we have been delighted to work with the Scottish FA again over the last couple of months in testing various creative development routes amongst similar audiences of supporters.  A number of focus groups were held with fans across the country and the results will help the Scottish FA and its media agency to fine tune the materials which will bring the real power of football to life, highlighting all of its benefits across social, mental and physical health, inclusivity and diversity and football’s ability to bring people and communities together.

To find out more about the work we have undertaken about our national sport, please just get in touch

As restrictions ease will the pandemic have a lasting impact on how Scots engage with nature?

NatureScot have just released the third in a series of national surveys we have undertaken for them tracking the population’s behaviours and feelings relating to outdoor recreation and nature over the course of Covid-19 pandemic.

Fieldwork for the latest survey wave ran in September 2021 and involved over 1,100 interviews. Encouragingly, our survey found that even as restrictions eased in the summer and some aspects of life began to return normal, the increased levels of engagement with nature recorded during periods of lockdown continued for many people.

Indeed, two thirds of the population agreed that compared to pre-pandemic they were more likely to notice health and wellbeing benefits from spending time outdoors and a third of told us that their enjoyment of wildlife in their local area had increased.

However with the increased numbers of people enjoying the outdoors, many users also noticed an increased amount of litter. Almost half told us that litter had spoilt their enjoyment while 29% experienced a lack of public toilet facilities!To see more results from this survey click on the link below.

If you’d like to find out more don’t hesitate to get in touch.

https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-research-report-1289-enjoying-outdoors-monitoring-impact-coronavirus-and-social

Finding solutions to business housing needs in Skye and Lochalsh

Next month fieldwork will go live on a new survey of businesses based in Skye and Lochalsh, seeking to find out to what extent a lack of affordable accommodation is making it difficult to recruit staff and to obtain the business community’s views on possible solutions to the problem. 

This important new study, which has been commissioned jointly by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Lochalsh & Skye Housing Association, SkyeConnect Tourist Destination Management Organisation and The Highland Council, follows on from similar studies undertaken by 56 Degree Insight during 2021 in Badenoch & Strathspey and Lochaber. These previous studies provided valuable evidence on the impacts of a lack of affordable housing in these areas including estimates of the proportion of businesses facing recruitment challenges because staff cannot find accommodation, the numbers of positions impacted and details on the types of accommodation most needed to address these problems.

The survey of businesses in Skye and Lochalsh will aim to gather similar evidence on the extent that a lack of housing is impacting upon recruitment and go further by asking participants to have their say on the best possible solutions - giving their own opinions on the actions that should be taken and their reactions to a range of potential solutions. 

While the core of the study will be an online survey of businesses, due to take place during February, a follow up series of one to one interviews will be undertaken with a selection of organisations to obtain more in depth feedback on the issues faced and the actions which need to be taken to resolve them.  This stage will provide us with the opportunity to engage in more detail with some of the larger employers in the area and potentially other stakeholders including land owners.

We look forward to launching the new survey soon. If you would like to find out more about the research or if you are a business based in Skye and Lochalsh and would like to take part in the research please get in touch!

Christmas vs Hogmanay: who wins in the battle of the December festivities amongst Scots?

Following Christmas, and as we gear up to the New Year celebrations in Scotland, albeit in a rather muted form this year because of restrictions caused by the rise of Omicron, it begs the question – what is more important to most Scots – Christmas or New Year?

It may be a surprise to discover that Christmas was not celebrated in Scotland for around 400 years, from the end of the 17th century to the 1950s. Indeed, for much of that time it was effectively banned - this dates back to the Protestant Reformation, when Christmas was deemed a ‘Catholic feast’, and as such the Kirk deemed that it was not to be celebrated!

Therefore, right up until the 1950s, many Scots worked over Christmas and celebrated their winter holiday at New Year when people gathered for parties, exchanged presents – and this became known as Hogmanay. 

Hogmanay remains a ‘very Scottish tradition’ and is synonymous with Scotland the world over.  But how to Scots in 2021 feel about Hogmanay and Christmas?  Does Hogmanay still take precedence?

In early December, before the latest Covid restrictions which will impact hugely on Hogmanay this year (no mass street parties or gatherings for example), 56 Degree Insight polled a representative sample of 500 Scottish adults and asked them – which do you like better, Christmas or Hogmanay/New Year? 

And clearly, things have changed since the 1950s!  Two thirds of Scots said that they prefer Christmas (65%) and only one in eight prefer New Year (12%).  One in five had no preference (19%) whilst 4% don’t like either.

Not unexpectedly though, there are variations in opinion by certain demographics.  As would be expected, families are the group most likely to prefer Christmas (77%) – only 7% of them prefer New Year.  However, young Scots adults - those aged 16-24 - are rather more likely to prefer New Year (26%), although even amongst this age group, a larger proportion choose Christmas (49%).

So why do most Scots prefer Christmas?  The main reason – mentioned by just under a third is the appeal of Christmas for families and children (31%):

''It is just so magical and wonderful for children and spending time with family”

''It is my most favourite time of year - I love spending time with family and giving gifts”

However for others, preference for Christmas is fuelled as much by a dislike for Hogmanay around two areas – bad memories and often loneliness (10%) and too much of an alcohol focus (8%):

''New year is a very sad time as I think about all the people who are no longer with us”

“Hogmanay can be very lonely”

''Hogmanay is just an excuse for people to get drunk”

Indeed amongst the 19% who prefer Hogmanay (dominated by the under 35s) , the main reasons given relate to parties and drinking:

''Christmas is too long and is getting boring as I get older. Prefer the parties at Hogmanay”

“Hogmanay means a good party, lots to drink and a fresh start to new year”

So, some clear evidence that for most Scots, Christmas celebrations are now more preferred over those that take place a week later – something that would have been much less likely back in the middle of the 20thCentury.

FOOTNOTE:

These findings were reported in the Scotsman on 30th December - accessible here

Helping CalMac navigate to a new normal

A lifeline service during a time of crisis

It’s now over a year and a half since Scotland went into its first full lockdown to reduce the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic. Throughout this period our client Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) has continued to provide an essential lifeline ferry service to residents of islands on the west of Scotland.

During the first lockdown which began in March 2020, CalMac reduced its timetable to an essential lifeline service for use by only those who really needed to travel such as NHS workers and those responsible for the delivery of essentials such as food. Their timetable reduced to less than 30% of its normal capacity and at the height of the lockdown passenger numbers dropped to less than 5% of normal volumes.

During this period CalMac also introduced many other changes to ensure that the vulnerable island communities they served were protected from infection. This included a move from cash to card only payments, a limited food offering and a requirement for passengers to wear face coverings in all inside areas. Also, to ensure that physical distancing requirements could be met, some passenger areas were reconfigured, capacity was less than in ‘normal times’ and a change of rules was made on some routes to allow passengers to remain in their vehicles during the crossing.

While there was a degree of easing for some time during summer 2020, restrictions were reintroduced in full in late 2020 when Scotland entering a second full lockdown.  This second lockdown remained in place until April 2021 when the ‘stay at home’ rule was firstly changed to ‘stay local’ and by the end of the month non-essential travel beyond home local authority areas was allowed again. 

While at this point CalMac were able to resume their summer timetable, ongoing physical distancing requirements until early August meant that capacity levels remained below normal, and passengers were asked to continue to book travel in advance and build in extra time when arriving at ‘turn up and go’ routes.

While some uncertainty continues, easing has since continued with most remaining major restrictions lifted in August when the country moved to ‘beyond level 0’. However, on writing some guidance impacting travel remains in place, most notably advice to work from home whenever possible and a requirement to wear face coverings on public transport. 

Getting back to normal?

While the first lockdown seemed a temporary change for all of us, the second lockdown, and the likelihood that some restrictions are likely to be retained for a long time to come, is leading to many businesses re-examining their operations in the knowledge that behavioural change among consumers may be long lasting as our working and home lives continue to readjust. 

CalMac is no different so they are looking to gain a clear understanding of the requirements of their customers.  While various surveys and external sources such as our Scottish Tourism Index have provided them with an understanding of the needs of tourists and how these may impact upon the leisure side of the business, CalMac identified the need to better understand the views and changing requirements of commuters and islanders as we emerged from the pandemic. 

A survey of non-leisure passengers to inform future strategy

Given this context we were delighted to be commissioned in spring 2021 to support CalMac in the collection and analysis of insights which would help provide them with this understanding of their non-leisure market. 

The survey is very much a partnership, we have provided input on the initial questionnaire design, CalMac administer the online survey (promoting it via channels seen by regular customers such as social media) and we then undertake the data analysis and reporting of findings.

To date three waves of surveying have been undertaken to track changing passenger behaviours and aspirations as the restrictions were eased over the summer of 2021.

Across the 3 waves of surveying conducted so far, over 1,100 passengers have provided their input, including details on their usage of CalMac before the pandemic, currently and expectations for the future and their feedback on changes required to improve services now and in future. This feedback ranges from comments relating to the ongoing Covid 19 related protections to more ‘business as usual’ feedback on matters such as timetabling and ticketing.

Results are reported to CalMac quickly after the fieldwork completes allowing them to stay in touch with passenger needs around current topics such as capacity, reliability and the on board catering offer, as well as longer term subjects such as changes in commuting, leisure or shopping behaviours.

If you would like to find out more about the surveys we do in the transport sector or relating to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic please get in touch.

Helping address the housing crisis in Badenoch and Strathspey

Introduction

Recently, 56 Degree Insight have been working with local organisations and Chambers of Commerce in various parts of Scotland to understand the scale of the housing shortage in some parts of the country which is limiting economic sustainability and growth in these areas. Work undertaken in the first area covered - Badenoch and Strathspey - has just been completed, and a Housing Summit took place in Aviemore today and the press release reproduced below from Cairngorm Business Partnership provides further details and the response from the Scottish Government Ministers involved:

Kate Forbes, Highland MSP and Cabinet Secretary for Housing address Cairngorms housing Summit

Business leaders, public sector and community representatives came together today to discuss the housing crisis in Badenoch & Strathspey with Kate Forbes, Highland MSP who is also Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy and Shona Robison, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government.

The summit at Macdonald Aviemore Resort and led by the Cairngorms Business Partnership brought together some of the significant employers in the area and leaders from Highland Council, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Highland Housing Alliance, Communities Housing Trust, Government Officials, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and representatives of the local community.

The summit discussed work underway to help people, who want to live in, work in and care for the area, find homes.

Ms Robison, who opened the summit, commented “Good quality, affordable housing is essential to help attract and retain people in Scotland’s remote and rural communities. As part of our £3.4 billion Affordable Housing Supply Programme we have delivered more than 6,000 affordable homes in rural and island communities between 2016-17 and 2020/21.

Building on this, we are now working to deliver 110,000 affordable homes across Scotland by 2032, of which 10% will be in our remote, rural and island communities. This will be backed by a Remote, Rural & Islands Housing Action Plan – we now want to engage with community organisations and those in the public and private sector to ensure it delivers for people in these areas.”

The results of a recent business housing demand survey, conducted by 56 Degree insight, were released at the summit. The results found that:

• two in three businesses state the lack of affordable housing has inhibited their ability to recruit new staff (68%)

• 39% indicated that this was having a ‘major impact’ on their business.

• over half of the businesses (59%) expected the issues to worsen if no action was taken.

• the meeting heard that, right now, there are 180 vacancies in Badenoch and Strathspey listed on the Indeed website alone. Survey results suggest that around 50 of these will not be filled due to a shortage of suitable homes.

The survey was commissioned by Highland Council and the Cairngorms Business Partnership. The Scottish Government, the National Park Authority and the Highland Council have undertaken to take the results into account when assessing housing needs analysis for Badenoch and Strathspey and therefore funding and allocations for public sector supported housing.

The summit also discussed an innovative scheme being led by the Cairngorms Business Partnership (CBP) to improve the prospects for local employees looking to rent homes in Badenoch and Strathspey. In a pilot partnership with Highland Council and the Highland Housing Alliance (HHA,) with support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the CBP will establish a not for profit, business led, organisation that will offer rent void guarantees to HHA and in return properties will be allocated based on local employment needs. The initial pilot for 4 homes in Aviemore is expected to be available for occupation in summer 2022.

Commenting on the scheme, Mark Tate, chief executive of the Cairngorms Business Partnership, commented “The lack of affordable homes for people who want to work in, live in and care for the National Park, has long been a problem. This past summer it has severely impacted business recovery. This pilot clearly demonstrates that businesses are prepared to make a contribution to help alleviate the problem and ensure new mid market rent housing is available for people working locally. We very much see all of the work we are discussing here today as work that we can replicate across the National Park and can be useful for many rural communities beyond that”.

Convener of Highland Council, local councillor and Aviemore resident, Bill Lobban added “The biggest issue facing our community is the provision of affordable housing. Our economy is almost exclusively tourism based so we do need accommodation for tourists but we also desperately need homes for the local people who live and work here many of whom serve the tourists who come here in their droves. There has to be a balance and currently that balance has shifted far too far away from the provision of affordable housing and we must redress that balance as a matter of urgency.”

Finally the summit heard, from the Communities Housing Trust who have been commissioned by the CBP with support from HIE, about a longer term ambition to develop a community of around 80 homes from short term seasonal worker accommodation to homes for people to build, buy, buy to rent and rent of varying sizes built around a community of local people; fitting for a National Park delivering economic, community and environmental sustainability. This scheme has the ambition of keeping at least 80% of those homes for local employees and people who want to live, work and care for the area in perpetuity.

There then followed a positive discussion about how these schemes can be improved further and a commitment from all parties to build on these solutions in a way that allows them to be scaled and replicated across the National Park and further.

Xander McDade, Convener of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, said: “The availability of affordable housing is an issue of profound importance to the communities and businesses of the National Park, something which is again coming across loud and clear from our consultation on the next Park Partnership Plan. Having recently increased the affordable housing requirement to 45% in key settlements, we welcome today’s announcements and look forward to working with partners on substantially increasing affordable housing as set out in the draft National Park Partnership Plan.”

Closing the meeting Ms Forbes commented “I am delighted that the Housing Minister, Shona Robison, is spending time with businesses to seek to resolve this major issue.There are tools at our disposal, in terms of building and securing more housing, but we need to make sure it is the right kind of housing for those who are most in need.”

Understanding the State of Play in the Scottish Performing Arts sector

The performing arts sector is one of the sectors most severely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis with theatres forced to close their doors for months and many of the (often freelance) workforce unable to continue working.

As the sector started to re-open this summer we were delighted to be commissioned by the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST) to work with them on their ‘State of Play’ sector research study.

This national study will provide FST with the vital feedback it needs to hear from the sector as they work together to rebuild and recover. Specifically, the research will provide new information on the health of the sector at this critical time, covering a wide range of topics including equality and diversity, climate action, policies and working practices, the impacts of Covid 19 and aspirations for the future.

The results will be used to inform a new Scottish Theatre and Dance strategy which FST is leading the development of, as well as providing insights to support their wider decision making and advocacy work. The study will also establish measures which can be used as a baseline to measure changes in future, with surveying repeated periodically to obtain an update from the sector.

Fieldwork has just completed - this involved two separate online surveys, one targeted at organisations in the sector and the other completed by individuals working in the sector. We are delighted with the response received and are now working with FST to analyse, interpret and report the findings. Look out for more updates in the near future.

If you’d like to find out more about this study or other research we are undertaking in the arts and culture sectors please get in touch.

Scotland gets back on track

Back in October 2019, 56 Degree Insight undertook an extensive baseline study for one of our ad agency partners, Leith, on behalf of the cross-operator “Scotland’s Railway” brand to obtain a strategic measure of the health and reputation of the various operators working under the new branding and to better understand attitudes, opinions and behaviours in terms of rail usage in Scotland.  This provided a measurement in advance of the communications campaign undertaken in late 2019 which focused on raising awareness of the new brand and ultimately to drive more usage of the various railway operators in Scotland and following the first wave of communications, we undertook an evaluation of its impact amongst a similar audience of consumers as a starting point to tracking reputation and interest in the Scotland’s Railway branding. This campaign was intended to run every few months during 2020 to track these opinions and interest in Scotland’s Railway and its reputation amongst the Scottish audience, however, as with most things, this was halted by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The good news however is that the Scotland’s Railway campaign work was revived in the summer of 2021 as we emerged from the pandemic. During early August this year, we undertook a ‘new baseline’ survey in advance of the new campaign which was launched in mid August.  Following this, we are in the process of analysing a second wave of consumer research to track the impact of the campaign across the Scottish population. Further campaigns are planned – the campaign on the link below is launching soon and focuses on the ‘green credentials’ of Scotland’s Railway and is being broadcast in advance of and during the COP 26 summit in Glasgow in early November.  Again, we will be tracking the success of this as well as further campaigns over the coming months.

It is a genuine pleasure to be working closely with colleagues at Leith as well as everyone in the client group at Scotland’s Railway which comprises representatives from the likes of Network Rail, ScotRail and all of the other Train Operating Companies that have an operating footprint in Scotland.  Our aim is that the insight gleaned from the research will help provide the tools to develop rail travel to, from and within Scotland – to help establish greener, sustainable growth and a continued performance improvement in the image and service provided within the rail sector.

Take a couple of minutes to watch the ad below and let us know what you think of the campaign.