Welcome!

What is this? An invitation to be part of the leading-edge research project "Knowledge is Power - Business and the New Unknown" helping employees like you through the pandemic at most uncertain times and informing employees, businesses and policymakers about best decisions.
Why is the project needed?  So much is unknown about the impact of this pandemic, the underlying post-Brexit uncertainty and other challenges for the UK workforce. New data is urgently needed. 

How can this project make a difference to you? It will provide you and policy-makers timely information on vital business aspects to find out what works, for whom and how to support you.
How is this research different than others? This is not just a one-time research project; this is a scientific, in-depth and longer-term project. We are with you for the long haul, collecting data three times: (1) now during the pandemic, (2) shortly after lockdown eases and (3) when things settle down hopefully to normal. Only this long-term design can give workforce, businesses and policymakers the best, most relevant and timely knowledge.
Who designed this science-driven project? A team of experts (Professors, Research Fellows) in economics, business and management, with extensive business-related research expertise and internationally-significant research knowledge.

Who is invited to take part? All employees in the UK are welcome.
How many participants are needed? Minimum 500 fully filled-in questionnaires, which is very hard to achieve. So we are inviting thousands of businesses to invite as many employees to take part. You are encouraged to also actively share your invitation with as many colleagues and other employees (at different workplaces) as you know, to enable precise, useful research outcomes.

What are you invited to do? Fill in the following on-line questionnaire, designed to take no longer than 10 minutes, open now online until 30 July 2020.

All responses are kept strictly confidential, shall be stored in a GDPR compliant way, and shall be anonymised so that no employee can be identified in any reporting. If you have further questions or queries about this survey, please contact the team's research fellow via APetrescu@uclan.ac.uk (e-mail monitored daily).

Thank you in advance for completing this survey.
The Research Team
Professor Sue Smith, Professor in Innovation and Enterprise, Chair of the Centre for SME Development
Professor Philip B. Whyman, Professor of Economics, Director of the Lancashire Institute for Economic and Business Research (LIEBR)
Dr. Adrian Wright, Director of the Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment (iROWE)
Dr. Alina I. Petrescu, Research Fellow in Labour Economics
Val Moon, SME Practice and Impact Analyst
Alison Hitchen, Interim Head of SME Development

Question Title

* To check that you give us your consent to take part, please read below and tick accordingly:

What sort of information do we need? About your satisfaction with your current and past working conditions, any changes that could support you and general well-being at work.
For useful and meaningful analysis, and to keep this questionnaire short, we shall need to have the name and postcode of your main employer - this is where you work most of your hours.  For example, we can then assess the impact on a particular sector of activity, if we know where you work - but in all our reports no employee would be identifiable.
Some questions invite you to write freely, specifically to make your voice heard - so do express your concerns and/or share successes. It is extremely helpful if you answer all questions.
We hope very much that you join the project and stay with us for the three phases of this research - so, to be able to invite you in the next phases of this research, we need your email address.
We shall keep information on our records indefinitely as strictly confidential.
ALL reporting will be anonymous. We need this information to follow how the workforce and business community has coped with the pandemic and its ramifications, and to see whether additional support might be required at different points over the next year or so.

Participation is voluntary - you can opt out without any consequences. To withdraw, please click on the 'Unsubscribe' link at the end of your invitation e-mail. 

What if you don't know how to answer?  If unsure please fill in rough estimates or averages. Every piece of information is helpful, especially if the whole survey is filled in. If you can't complete the questionnaire in one sitting, you can save and return at a later stage.

What will we do with your information?  We shall write reports which you can retrieve from our website for FREE. We shall inform businesses and policymakers in most influential ways we can. Anonymized results will published to help academics and practitioners shape a better future for their workforce, business and the community.  

Our contacts are:
E-mail: APetrescu@uclan.ac.uk
Postal Address: Centre for SME Development, Greenbank Building, UCLan, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2 HE. Telephone: 01772 894321.
Follow us at: @UCLanBusiness 
Webpage: https://www.uclan.ac.uk/business_at_uclan/centre-sme-development.php
UCLan Ethics e-mail for any confidential complaints is: OfficerForEthics@uclan.ac.uk 

I confirm that I have read the above information and I AGREE TO TAKE PART in this research:

Question Title

* How have you heard of this survey?

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