Evaluation of Food Forum West 2003-2005

Food Forum West (FFW) is an industry forum for organisations associated with the food and drink manufacturing sector, led by Scottish Enterprise (SE) Renfrewshire and delivered in partnership with SE Ayrshire, SE Forth Valley and SE Lanarkshire as part of the SE Network Food and Drink Cluster Action Plan. The aim of the evaluation was to analyse the performance of the Forum and inform the future development of SE Renfrewshire’s lead role in it.

The research methods included: discussions with the project manager to establish the scope and content of the report; discussion with the delivery agent responsible for organising the events; desk research, such as the analysis of event feedback; telephone interviews with individuals from the food and drink industry; and discussion with the Food Champions from participating LEC areas, SE Lanarkshire, SE Glasgow and SE Ayrshire.

All respondents believed there was a need for such a Forum to exist. Most respondents were happy with the event format. Most attendees believed their business contacts and industry knowledge had improved as a result of the events. The content at FFW events had led to increased sales for many companies, and half of attendees believed the events had increased their competitiveness. Less than half of attendees felt they understood the workings of SE better as a direct result of the events, but a number commented that they would know where to look for business support and advice in the future.

The evaluation recommended that: FFW should continue to organise events; it should consider increasing the number of events; marketing should be stepped up to promote awareness of the benefits of attendance; Local Enterprise Companies should promote the events to companies in their area; event topics should be driven by industry demand, not by an SE or Scottish Food and Drink agenda; some of the events should include interactive sessions which encourage networking; lunchtime rather than evening events should be considered to boost numbers; and some events should be held in Glasgow to improve accessibility.