FAQs
About Applying
About Claiming for the Grant
About conducting the research
What’s eligible
About Applying
1 Are there lots of forms to complete?
Not really. In addition to the usual proposal prepared for a marketing research project we only ask for an application form to be filled in with the details of your company. A successful application will result in a formal contract being drawn up between the BCC and your company; we will ask you to accept this contract and return before you commission the research or depart upon your in-house field trip.
Upon completion of the project we ask you to complete a claim form summarising your expenses to accompany your market research report and receipts.
See how to apply
or email us at
emr@britishchambers.org.uk.
2 Who will look after my application?
A Project Co-ordinator and a Research Adviser will be assigned to your project. The Research Adviser is available to discuss any aspect of your project planning and the Project Co-ordinator will take care of administering your application.
3 How much notice should we give of our project?
We ask for applications to be made at least 28 days prior to commissioning or your date of departure.
We consult with other departments within UK Trade & Investment; awaiting response from overseas quarters can take a while and often there are some discussions to be held with them. The application process usually takes between two and four weeks.
While it is sometimes possible to go through the administrative process of advising Embassies and Regional Offices quickly enabling an offer to be made in a shorter time, four weeks is barely adequate for you to benefit from the full advisory service available from the Scheme; the best service is delivered when an exporter approaches the Scheme for advice when the first idea of developing a presence in an overseas country arises.
4 Can I make more than one application at a time?
Yes, a desk research project can be supported at the same time as a field research project. The Scheme will not however support more than one field research project from the same company at the one time; hence, while we may accept two applications from the one company, we will make an offer on the second project once the claim has been settled on the first.
5 What’s the amount of a typical grant?
Although our literature states that grants of up to £20,000 per project are possible through the Scheme, such figures are very seldom seen.
The average grant for an in-house project is between £2,000 and £3,000. For an Agency project the average grant is between £6,000 and £7,000.
About Claiming for the Grant
6 When do I get paid?
An offer of a grant is made shortly after the application arrives by way of a formal contract letter. The grant is then paid out within 28 days of receiving a satisfactory marketing research report and relevant receipts.
7 Why do we need to write a report?
The report itself is a very usual document setting out in a structured way the findings of the research; the report helps you to crystallise your thoughts and logically draw the appropriate and objective conclusions; it enables others to come to the same conclusions as you have and is used to convince potential financiers and overseas partners.
A report must be presented along with your claim for payment of the grant. The report provides evidence that you have undertaken the project as you had proposed and achieved the research objectives set out in your proposal.
8 What if my report is not deemed satisfactory?
Research Advisers are at hand at the end of the project to ensure that you get the most out of the report writing process. In addition, any report that is not deemed satisfactory can be resubmitted following consultation with your Adviser.
9 Do you pay the grant if the research finds there is no market?
Certainly, there are many examples where although provisional indications suggested there to be a possible market, deeper investigation have deterred a company from investing. In fact the confident knowledge that there is not a market in the country enables a company to concentrate their attentions on more profitable regions of the world.
10 Will my application be treated in confidence?
Absolutely. Only a very small number of BCC and Government officials will see your proposal; only the BCC Research Adviser will read your report. The contents of the report are regarded as confidential and the report is returned to you with the grant payment; other organisations are never informed of individual projects, nor do they see the research reports.
About conducting the research
11 Does the BCC carry out research?
No. We provide advice to UK companies on how to undertake the research and administer funding for up to half the cost of the research. We do not carry out any research ourselves.
12 Do I have to be a trained marketing researcher or have experience of doing research in order to undertake an in-house research project?
No, but you will need to be able to conduct the research proficiently. The majority of supported projects are undertaken by small firms with little or no previous research experience. Our Research Advisers can help you here. In-house researchers are not required to be members of any professional association or society. The scheme does however require every researcher to abide by the
Code of Conduct
laid down for marketing research practitioners by the
Market Research Society.
13 Does BCC have a register of approved market research agencies?
No. The BCC does not recommend any individual agency. It is not within the remit of the Scheme's advisory service to select agencies, only to advise companies as to the suitability and cost effectiveness of their choice. However our professional Research Advisers will offer help if the applicant's efforts fail to identify any appropriately qualified agencies.
Click here to view the list of sources used by the scheme managers
14 Why do we need to approach three different agencies?
This is just good business practice; the purpose is twofold. Firstly, to compare a number of different approaches and secondly to ensure cost effectiveness.
15 What information on overseas countries does BCC have?
None. The BCC is not a library. We can usually direct enquiries towards appropriate sources of reliable information, often available at no charge.
16 Where can I find an interpreter?
Interpreting is a profession that cannot be undertaken by just someone you know or employ who speaks the language; commercial officers in the diplomatic posts can usually make appropriate recommendations; University students reading English (preferably with some relevant knowledge, education, experience etc) have been found useful; hotels can sometimes arrange interpreter and translation services but, beware, these can be extremely expensive.
17 Can my agent or distributor do the research?
Not really; this would be unwise because they are unlikely to be objective and may well include themselves in any recommendation for entry into this market regardless of what the most appropriate route for your company might be.
One of the most important factors in any market research is objectivity. By using an agent/distributor in your discussions you may be compromising the objectivity of the research. The agent will have his own agenda – whether it is impressing you to get your business or using the opportunity to build a relationship with the respondent for his own benefit (and that of possible competitors).
Another factor is the reputation of the agent within the industry. If the agent/distributor you choose has a negative reputation this may influence the reaction your product receives from respondents and may even prevent them from obtaining a good cross-section of interviews.
Even if the agent’s reputation is good, particularly if he is a major player, this may distort a respondent’s comments. Questions about distribution channels are particularly unlikely to be honestly answered.
Agents and distributors do however make for useful respondents in a marketing research project.
18 Can I get a grant that supports 2 researchers?
It depends. The scheme will support one researcher’s costs in undertaking the project. Should a second researcher be involved in the project, then some of his/her time in the country could also be supported provided that their presence has allowed more fieldwork to be covered in a shorter time.
19 Can I make sales during a marketing research trip?
No. If you are conducting marketing research, you will not be in a position to make sales before the relevant information on the market(s) has been gathered which you will use to develop your sales strategy. The limited funds made available to support marketing research in overseas countries do not extend to business development activities. Engaging in such pursuits as evaluating / appointing distributors, presenting or negotiating sales of your company’s products or services would jeopardise the full settlement of your claim.
What’s eligible?
20 What do you mean by export marketing research?
A planned, systematic and objective method of obtaining information in the UK and abroad to help make the decisions to develop a market entry strategy for a new overseas market.
21 Do you pay towards hotel accommodation?
Yes. We use daily subsistence rates updated for us on a quarterly basis by HM Treasury; the Scheme supports 50% of the accommodation costs on a per night basis. We can look up the prevailing rate prior to your trip.
22 Do you pay for meals and taxis etc?
Yes. The daily subsistence allowance is intended to contribute towards the cost of hotel accommodation, meals and local expenditure (including local taxi fares). However if you obtain receipts for taxi journeys and other in market transport, then please include these for additional consideration.
Click here for information on how to claim eligible costs.
23 Do you pay towards salary costs?
No.
24 Does research carried out in the UK qualify for financial support?
Yes, where it forms part of an agency project or where a published report is purchased. Desk research conducted in-house in the UK does not attract financial support.
25 Can attendance at exhibitions and conferences be supported?
No, attendance at trade fairs, exhibitions and conferences is one of the few stated specific areas where EMRS support cannot be given. We do however recognise that attendance at such an event can contribute to the collection of information for a marketing research exercise and endorse the co-incidence of these events with a marketing research project which must constitute a fully supportable study in its own right. However, support will cover just one night associated with the event.
Click here for further details.
26 Does the scheme subsidise the cost of purchasing reports prepared by the embassies?
No. The reports prepared by commercial staff at British embassies (Overseas Market Introduction Service) are already heavily subsidised when priced to your International Trade Team. No further subsidy is made available through the scheme.
27 Can we research more than one country at a time?
It depends. The scheme is set up to support a project in one country at a time. However, in certain circumstances a case can be made for supporting up to three neighbouring countries in the one project. Therefore it is not unusual for Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to be supported in the one project or Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to feature together. Consideration should be given not only to the convenience of visiting more than one country while in the region but also to the resources required to appropriately enter three markets all within a very short timescale.
28 Does it matter that sales have already been made in that country?
No. In fact it is often the case that a few unsolicited sales arising from a country indicate that a larger potential might be realised once a carefully thought out market entry strategy has been developed. The important determinant for eligibility for the scheme is that a market entry strategy is being formulated.