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FORUM – SSCCI the UK experience
Single Industrial Estates
Business Improvement Districts
Chase Space
Chase3 – Public Private Partnership
Choice of partners – Governance arrangements – Collective activities –
Dealing with Government – Business improvements - Networks
What We Do
Forum
 Cannock Chase Business Improvement District (B.I.D) 2007 – 2012
 275 businesses over 5 out of town business parks
 Additional contribution through business rates
 £150,000 per annum for five years - £750,000
Provides sustainable funding and long term investment
 Unique approach to tackling problems faced by businesses
 Improve, manage and sustain trading environments
Forum
 In depth consultation for 18 months to inform and consult
 Surveys - common goals identified
 Crime and Security
 Image Enhancement – signage / grounds maintenance
 Traffic Congestion
 Agreed baselines
 Vote – 52% voted YES 48% voted no or did note vote
 Measurable outcomes / K.P.I’s from Municipality
Forum
 Dedicated Business Park Co-ordinator – all issues
 Image Business Partnerships was formed
 Business led self help group
 Multi Agency involvement
 Project planning and implementation
 Long term sustainable approach – five year project
 Re-ballot in 2012
B.I.D Services and Business
Forum
 Provide services and facilities that are additional to existing municipality
services
 Create a more attractive, vibrant, cleaner and safer environment
 Improve the trading performance
 Raise property values
 Attract inward investment
 Strong links with all parts of the community
 Prevents free loaders
Our Route To Businesses
Forum
 Existing relationship – trust and confidence there
 275 companies in the BID plus ‘Chase Space’
 Long term sustainability through Chase3 – we have a long term vision for
project and will involve all our projects – traders associations – will roll out
the program
Discussion
•What are the other partners route to businesses?
•Do you have an existing relationship with BIZ areas?
•How have you chosen your areas?
•What is their authority?
METHOD – SSCCI the UK experience
Data Management
Baseline Surveys and Profile
Strategy and Objectives
Communication and Public Relations
Integration of MoMa.BIZ into networks – Gaps to be filled – Employee
behaviour – Community awareness – Interpretation of need
An Approach
Method
 Engage with ALL businesses
 Collate accurate database
 Highlight issues and barriers to growth
(crime / identity / Environment)
 Identify investment opportunities
 Develop interest in business led improvement
 Build up trust and confidence
 Press Release – they are part of something prestigious and new to the area
The Way Forward
Method
 Conduct a baseline survey
 Supply a detailed report of findings
 Identify ‘champions’ from the business community – advocate from each
BIZ
 Highlight site improvements
 Set up a business forum
 Produce a master plan
 Develop a sustainable plan for the future
Engagement
Method
 Participation is about engagement – need to create an Engagement
Strategy
 Identify BIZ areas
 Ask municipality for names and addresses – their assistance is key
 Create awareness – introduce project through newsletters / letters / initial
survey to sense response rate
 Follow up with telephone calls
 Follow up with face to face visits for those that do not respond – explain in
more detail
Start
Method
 Need to get businesses commitment and support
 Need to gain the stakeholders trust and confidence
 Inspire them – their involvement is worth the risk
 Now we have names and information – inform them of a start date –
Public Launch Date – invite press and record event
 Create a ‘group’ that they can be part of – much higher chance of long term
success rate – name the group
Quick wins – shows our interest and assertiveness / action
 Clean up the BIZ areas
 Maintenance – prune hedges, road sweeps
Baseline Survey for each BIZ
Method
 Remember it is challenging to engage people in caring about the
environment and climate change
 Choose another route to communicate the MoMa.BIZ Project – the
message
 Transport problems affect all – Highlight how the project assists with
transport problems – parking on double yellow lines, staff cannot park
 Conduct a baseline survey
 What are their issues – pick up the MoMa.BIZ Project through their
concerns – they will not think that Mobility Management affects them
 If bus stops were installed at the entrance to all BIZ would they be used –
participation levels – what would it take?
Make Event Appealing to a Wider
Method
Audience
 At the Activating Event invite ‘Guest Speakers’ to inspire businesses and
speak on issues within Mobility Management
Also invite other ‘Guest Speakers’ to attract a larger audience:
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Local municipality
Highways Agency
Bus Companies
Local Chamber of Commerce
Banks and Businessmen
Job Centres
Police
Multi-Agency approach
Question and answer sessions – unrelated to mobility management but
would ensure that they were there to then engage
Marketing and PR
Method
 Use interesting and different forms of marketing the project and the
‘Activating Event’
 Post cards, eye catching literature – be creative
it makes a powerful statement of who we are
 Inform local municipality – their website / residents magazine
 Local newspapers press release and create photo opportunity at event
 List of Companies that attend will be in local newspaper
 Prepare a booklet for stakeholders to be given on MoMa.BIZ
Information Share
Method
After conducting initial surveys and employee surveys and work package
we will know:
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Their concerns for area
Footfall
Car parking figures
Bus Figures
Vacancy rates
Chosen method of transport
Distances
Number of people commuting to BIZ – employees and visitors
 This information is the key to negotiations with bus companies, Landlords
etc
Example Summary of Findings
Method
 850 employees
 700 travel to work by car
 75 extra car parking spaces needed for visitors and customers
 600 official car parking spaces
 45 spaces not used by current tenants
 50 spaces at empty units
This information will also be of interest to businesses and involve them
How to Engage with the BIZ
Method
 Sometimes it feels hugely challenging to engage and excite people to take
action against climate change
 Some people immediately understand the importance of this and start
taking personal action. The first step of any campaign is to reach them and
get them involved
 Talking beyond this small group to the large majority of people – who are
often confused or doubtful about the issues, suspicious of the messengers
and pre-occupied with their day to day lives- can be frustrating and
sometimes daunting
There will always be the handful of enthusiastic people who are keen to
reduce their carbon footprint - it's encouraging all the others to do
something that's the hard thing!
Pippa Reeve, Northants Climate Friendly Communities
What is Communication
Method
Communication is much wider than you would think
 At a personal level, a great deal of communication is non-verbal: how we
dress, hold ourselves and our body language are all powerful
communicators – be enthusiastic from the start
 Appear tolerant, welcoming, active and having fun you will attract people by
offering them positive reasons for being involved
Traditional forms of written communication are important
 Even in the internet age, a good leaflet, poster, or display is still an
important way of explaining our project
 The style and appearance of them make a powerful statement of who we
are. Include photos of members (for example a group photo) and quotes
from actual members - builds trust
Different Ways of Communicating
Method
 Because of its very low cost, and its potential for spreading information by
peer-to-peer contact, e-mail is the ideal
 Invite members to pass on e-mail communications to new people in their
own networks. It is important to have some internet presence- even if it is
just a page with your leaflet text and contact details.
 Talking, face to face contact and word of mouth are still king
 Because climate change is often technical and data driven, people want
personal interaction – such as verbal presentations or face-to-face
conversations – to help them to process and understand the information
 Presentations
Method
 Encourage people to display their membership and take ownership of your
messages – they are part of something BIG and NEW
Be creative
 As with any form of commercial marketing, always try to think of new and
eye-catching ways of reaching people
 Community groups have tried beer mats, comics, banners, games,
competitions
 Make sure you understand your community before deciding how best to
communicate with them – ours are SME’s on out of town business parks
Community Led Plan
Method
 Local consultation and relationship building begins before the steering
group is established
 Establish the steering group
 Developing a project plan
 Community consultation
 Prioritising action and drafting the plan
 Finalising and implementing the plan
 Monitoring and reviewing progress
Partnership Working
Method
 A community-led plan is most likely to wok if it is supported by all the key
agencies in a local community. This is especially true of support from local
municipalities
 Local authorities can provide advice and information to groups undertaking
community-led planning and may even fund some of the process
 MoMa.BIZ is independent community-led plans ought to inform the
development of statutory policies and plans as municipalities are required to
consult with the community
What Methods Will Partners Use?
DELIVERY – sscci the UK experience
 Building face to face relations
 Training additional local advocates
 Developing cooperative opportunity
 Linking to direct business benefits
 Seizing positive local initiatives and publicising
Building on existing foundations – Extending network activities –
Constant feedback and encouragement – Sustainable and self
generating program activity – Community dissemination –
Adopting box solutions
Get Business Owners Interested
Delivery
 Networking opportunity for businesses
 Speak with travel companies and private shuttle bus companies to see if we
can create a free or subsidised rate for all members of the MoMa.BIZ –
Free bus passes for employees
Make an announcement at event
 Free rental period on units if expanding – 3 months free rent
 Speak with Landlords / owners of empty units prior to meeting to gain their
cooperation for a ‘Use Our Car Park Week’
Make an announcement at event
 Grants and Funding
Make an announcement at event
 Food and drink laid on
Potential of Project
Delivery
 Create other opportunities through the project
 More eateries / facilities in BIZ areas – what do businesses want – would
this encourage them to stay on site at lunchtime?
This is all part of Mobility Management
Small business enterprise per BIZ
Could create a business opportunity – could Council subsidise business
rates or Landlord give a rent-free period
press story – good for local economy
 Use a redundant building in BIZ – develop visitor economy
 Opportunities for sponsorship – local bicycle shop, car dealership
Press Release / PR / Newspapers and TV
Know Their Concerns
Delivery
 To make real progress in reducing emissions everyone will need to be
involved and collective action will need to be seen as both desirable and
normal
 People are more likely to believe and respond to others who seem like
themselves and who share their concerns and interests
 Businesses are aware of the cost of running a car
 Businesses are motivated by money – we can save them money, save their
staff money and improve the appearance of the BIZ
 Staff punctuality improved
 Ease the pressure on parking
Our Plan
Delivery
Climate change is one of many priorities
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The content of every community led plan reflects the needs, interests and
priorities of the individuals and groups who contribute to it. The focus is
always on local issues. Typical topics that arise within community
consultation about local needs include:
Crime and security
Grounds Maintenance
Signage
Public transport
Road safety
Business support
On site eating facilities
Training
Waste and recycling
The Approach
Delivery
 Most people do not think of climate change on this scale but rather as a
global, long-term challenge
 However, there is enormous scope for action on climate change to be
included within community-led plans. The benefits of doing this are
considerable
 Climate change action becomes a shared concern of a whole community
 New opportunities open up to inform and educate local people about climate
change
 Our aim is for the MoMa.BIZ Project to be a springboard for more intensive
local action on climate change
 The links between climate change and local needs
Building Support for Climate Change
Delivery
 Look for common ground and use this to build a foundation for shared
action
 Public attitudes to climate change are complex and it will always be difficult
to find common ground if basic knowledge and awareness of the issues is
lacking
 Many green groups have also found that their messages are more powerful
if climate change actions are presented as ‘win-wins’ for local people.
Insulation programmes, for example, are easy to present as money-saving
as well as ‘planet-saving’ actions. This ‘win-win’ approach is an effective
way of identifying and exploiting common ground. It not only incentivises
climate change actions, it also promotes a more positive attitude and
increases the public acceptability of pursuing climate change action in
general
Language
Delivery
 It is important to use appropriate and relevant language when discussing
‘environmental issues’
 People are likely to support concerns over heating and insulation for elderly
people and young families, or air quality at the local school, but labelling
these things as ‘environmental issues’ may alienate some people
 For climate change action to be fully integrated into community-led
planning, the ‘win-win’ approach needs to be tackled from the other
direction
 Our Route to Involvement Rather than starting with a list of climate
change actions and trying to work out the best way to ‘sell’ these, you need
to start with an honest appreciation of the needs and priorities of local
people and work out how these can be ‘reframed’ to a climate change
agenda
Benefits for Business
Delivery
When launching a Mobility Management project it is important to show direct
financial benefits for the companies involved
Savings related to car parking and improved health of employees
Personal health is usually the main motivating factor for employees
Clear support from management is vital to ensure continuity of the work
The national authorities can support companies by developing the policy
instruments, financing practical pilot projects and informing of best practices
Participation
Delivery
 Those who have plans to change location and need more information on the
impact of relocating for employees including travel costs
 Service sector where employees can be reached by e-mail and information
widely disseminated via intranet
 Companies that have huge costs and lack of parking places can solve or
relieve these problems by Mobility Management
Mobility Management in commuting can be approached from two directions:
1. Behavioural change can be reached by affecting employers that, in turn,
provide and market sustainable transport services to their employees
2. Employers should then be aware of the other social factors other than
commuting which affect single person travel habits
Delivery
 Contact employees directly - the psychology behind individual travel
behaviour can be understood more easily
 ‘Bike Busters’ is an example of an employee oriented approach. It is not a
pure example of Mobility Management because it does not directly activate
the employer, the generator of the traffic
Successful Mobility Management projects use both
 Visible improvements during the project are crucial
Stages
Delivery
 The first phase of the project is a travel questionnaire
 Have very visible improvements right from the start
 The management should be involved well before launching the project to
employees – they will be our local leaders
Encouraging companies to work with Mobility Management can be
accomplished primarily in three ways:
1. A sustainable mobility plan is required by law or municipal regulation
2. A sustainable mobility plan is required in quality and environment systems
3. Mobility planning and projects are activated and subsidised by the public
sector
Action
Delivery
Activating and supporting companies in Mobility Management initiatives can
in principle be done in two ways:
 by giving information
 by granting finances in order to allow the purchase of mobility expertise as
an outsourcing service
 Information is important but it is even more important is to have some kind
of local focal point which can provide specifics
i.e. improvements for BIZ as a whole
We will provide training for all business owners and address other issues
Phone call last week asking if we could source training
Delivery
Companies need very practical tools and also marketing material:
 What kind of benefits employers can gain from Mobility Management
 How to map current travel habits, problems and expectations
 What kind of actions could be carried out – which are the most effective and
what are the costs and benefits
 How should the selected actions be activated in practice
 Where to get material for information campaigns
 How to inform and market about the actions
 What kind of local rules and national legislation should be taken into
account when providing different services
UK SSCCI Conclusion
Every company is different and there are no universal solutions.
Key success factors seem to be:
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Anchoring the project at business owners
Sufficient time for the project to develop and bring about results
Adequate resources for practical work with companies
Well-defined and segmented target groups
Personal skills and motivation of the people in charge
Carefully planned before/after-surveys with sufficient time in between
Well-defined and well-known goals and targets
Sufficient marketing, resources and patience
Actual results – what the project can do for individuals is what it comes
down to
Any questions
Discussion of problems that
Partners anticipate