Mapping Exercise

The Mapping Exercise for the LEF was co-ordinated by HIE Moray with the assistance of input from Forum members. Services were identified and grouped by reference to a seven point checklist of SME needs, developed originally for the DTI Small Firms Service. It was also felt appropriate to extend the definition of "business support services", for the purposes of the Mapping Exercise, to include relevant aspects of support to communities, to the environment, to the arts and to related sectors, since these can contribute both directly to local employment and indirectly to the infrastructure supporting local tourism.

The LEF has therefore defined "business support services", for the purposes of the Mapping Exercise, as covering -

Information.
Advice and Guidance.
Training.
Access to Finance.
Access to Markets.
Access to Research and Technology.
Suitable Premises.

The final version of the Map of current business support services in Moray is attached as Annex C. The Forum believes this is the first time the range of available services has been brought together in a single document. This has therefore been a valuable exercise in its own right. Although the Map has been checked and endorsed by the members of the Forum, it is recognised that further changes or additions may need to be made to it in the coming months, as a result of its wider circulation and of feed-back on the Mapping Exercises undertaken by other LEFs.

Since it concentrates on service provision, the Map does not cover local partnerships related to economic development and business support, which LEFs were also asked to review. The Forum concluded that the following partnership bodies were most relevant to its work and should be included, where appropriate to their area of interest, in the work resulting from the Action Plan:

Cairngorms Partnership
Moray Community Economic Development Steering Group.
Education Business Partnerships in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey
Local Learning Partnerships
Careers Service Companies - to be merged into Careers Scotland (Highlands & Islands.

Further information on these partnerships and their membership is at Annex D.