Home : Reports and Publications : Audit & Evaluation : Canada Business Service Centres in Western Canada: Evaluation Report 2002
Canadian Business Service Centres
in Western Canada:
Evaluation Report 2002
4.6 Unintended Impacts
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EVALUATION ISSUE |
SUCCESS |
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EVALUATION QUESTION |
Were there unintended impacts? |
Three main unintended impacts emerged:
- The strength and success of the CBSC model has given rise to
competition where least expected. The federal government is vigorously
pursuing its Government On-Line (GOL) initiative, and echoes many
of the design principles first adopted by CBSCs when it says "Canadians
are looking for seamless service from government ...They want
a single place to find all government services that are relevant
to them in one place, at one time - a 'single window' into government."
(GOL 2002, page 7) The Business Start-up Assistant, developed
by CBSCs and its many federal, provincial and local partners,
has also been integrated into GOL as one of the government's successes.
Plans are afoot to bring more business services on-line through
GOL. It is uncertain as yet what role the CBSCs will play within
the overall structure, although BusinessGateway.gc has
clearly positioned the Centres under the business start-up category.
Other governments are also introducing an enhanced web presence. The Government of Alberta, for example, recently launched its new website ServiceAlberta. CBSCs are faced with the same competition at both federal and provincial levels.
- Clients are requesting second generation products and services
from CBSCs. As one senior official said, "Seminars and educational
sessions are important services. They deal with the more sophisticated
client who has already done a web search." Whether this change
is impelled more by technology than by CBSC interactions in the
marketplace, the impact is putting a strain on CBSC resources.
- Loss of visibility is an unintended impact. "The more partners
we have, the harder it is for us to have an identity" was
how this phenomenon was described. Some managers have explored
ways to label digital CBSC products through the 'contact us' function;
others have sought to preserve their identity through incorporation
as an independent society (BC) or not-for-profit corporation (Alberta).
Many Centres or their satellites have adopted regional trade names
that serve to distinguish them in their local marketplaces, although
federal GOL sites continue to refer generically to CBSCs, with
no provincial or local identification whatsoever. All Centres
are exploring more regional alternatives to help build their local
identity, explore locally successful program and funding options
and build more partnerships with the private and not-for-profit
sector.
4.7 Cost-effective Alternatives
When asked to list additional types of products or services, 11% of the clients suggested "more information on a particular sector of business". Business counseling, information on government grants and in-depth research assistance ranged in frequency from 9% to 6% respectively. With respect to research, clients were probed a little further to determine whether a market exists for research services. Almost two-thirds said they prefer some assistance or a research service (Figure 29).
Figure 29: Preferred Methods of Research
Both clients and potential clients were asked how much, if anything, they would pay for services (Figure 30). Potential clients demonstrate a higher propensity to pay than clients. Fewer people would pay for self serve computers, likely because respondents had access to their own PC (the surveys being web-based). Staff were also asked which of these products or services they would like CBCSs to provide. The percentage responses are provided in the right hand column of Figure 30.
Figure 30: Willingness to Pay - Clients and Potential Clients
Figure 30 shows there is some market potential for cost recovery or modest service fees. More than 50% of the clients said they would at least pay direct costs, except in the areas of information about government funding, networking and self serve computers.
To determine whether receptivity to paying for some services varies according to the type of client responding, the Institute correlated status with willingness to pay. No significant variations appeared among client groups who were willing to pay either market value or nothing. Aggregating responses for direct costs plus service fee and direct costs only, small variations occur between business start-ups, existing businesses and professional advisors (Figure 31).
Figure 31: Willingness to Pay Direct Costs + Fee / Direct Costs Only, by Category
To get some idea of what the market will bear, potential clients were asked to specify a range of prices they paid for services purchased from other sources. Very few replied. Of the seven who said they had paid for market information, three said they spent more than $100; the others spent no more than $50. The largest number of respondents (15) said they paid more than $100 for managing an existing business. In view of the low number of responses, this question did not provide reliable data.
Generally speaking, senior officials and staff believe that CBSCs have been successful in maximizing information and referral services while minimizing costs. Senior officials took a more positive view of the overall situation than staff (Figure 32). As one executive officer pointed out, "activity has increased while costs have been held". Several mentioned that moving to a web-based platform would help manage scarce resources. In addition, about 40% of the staff felt that research services could be offered more effectively if client demand were increased. Similarly, roughly half thought increased demand would improve the effectiveness of training sessions.
