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Report compiled and published by

VICTORIA BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT2nd Floor, 14 Buckingham Palace RoadLondon SW1W 0QP

Copyright © 2014 Victoria Business Improvement District

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below.

FAO: Chief Operating OfficerVictoria BID2nd Floor, 14 Buckingham Palace RoadLondon SW1W 0QP

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Contents

SUMMARY 4

RESEARCH SAMPLE & METHODOLOGY 5

KEY FINDINGS 6

CONCLUDING REMARKS 20

RECOMMENDATIONS 21

BID FOOTPRINT 22

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The Victoria BID Stakeholder Perception Survey is a perception exercise, the aim of which was to conduct a representative, time-sensitive, quantitative and credible assessment of the BID’s perceived value to key stakeholders.

Summary

From a communications perspective, the Perception Survey is an opportune evidence-gathering initiative, implemented at a significant time prior to the BID’s renewal campaign. The recommendations stemming from the survey results could help drive Victoria BID’s future communications strategy, facilitate greater collaboration between the business community and the BID and establish a baseline and targets to measure progress in the future. Overall, more than 170 stakeholders were approached. Stakeholders approached were the most senior personnel in the businesses and included Facilities Managers, Chief Financial Officers, Managing Directors, Chief Executive Officers and Office Managers.

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Research Sample and Methodology

The Victoria BID Perception survey was carried out over a period of six weeks, between 16th June 2014 and 27th July 2014. The exercise consisted of an online questionnaire, which was targeted at key stakeholders who would be eligible to vote in the upcoming ballot.

It was agreed that the optimal length of the Survey would be 17 questions. Each question would be sufficiently detailed in order that a meaningful insight could be gleaned from the response, but it was equally important that each question be not too time-consuming to complete.

The Perception Survey included 15 “closed questions” and two (2) “open” questions. The two final “open” questions were optional and asked the respondent whether they would know who will vote on behalf of their business in the Renewal Ballot and provide their contact details.

The questions were designed to capture three (3) critical criteria:

* Satisfaction of business members to the offered BID services * Importance of Victoria BID’s services to local businesses * Intention of vote in the upcoming Renewal Ballot

The online Survey was emailed to 175 businesses which total 255 hereditaments (rental units), and this figure was used for calculating the response rate. There were 80 responses to the survey out of 175 businesses, providing a response rate of 45.7%, which was considerably higher than the target of 15% (seen as the average response rate for such a survey) and can, therefore, be considered a very good return rate.

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Key Findings

In this section we will provide for each question a chart which will portray at a glance the results at the BID footprint level. For each question, the key findings and the analysis will be provided.

Q1: Are you aware of the services that the Victoria BID offers?

The vast majority of the respondents - 86% - are fully aware of the existence of the BID and the services it offers. This means that the BID is now a well-known entity and it has established itself as a major service provider with proven record of success.

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Q2: To date, we have identified and delivered upon five key themes: Safe and Secure, Clean and Green, Prosperous Economy, Destination Victoria and Showcase Victoria. Please rate how important each of the following are to your business, with 1 being unimportant and 5 being important.

Safe and Secure theme came in first in importance for the business stakeholders with an average rating of 4.52 / 5. The establishment of a ‘Prosperous Local Economy’ and the attraction of new investments in Victoria came in second, with 58% of the respondents rating it as ‘Very Important’. What is interesting is that ‘Clean and Green’ theme had the lowest average rating.

A possible explanation is that key stakeholders have not linked ‘business’ with ‘sustainability’ – a field where the BID team could potentially do more in the near future. Other possible explanation might be that the stakeholders perceive business success as such, as being independent of green assets surrounding their businesses; however it is pretty crucial for their employees.

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Q3: Please rate how satisfied you are with the projects the BID has delivered with 1 being dissatisfied and 5 satisfied.

In an overview of the BID’s main projects, ‘Enhancing the Cleanliness’ of the area had the best average rating. This is an indication that the dedicated cleaning team which the BID provides has had a significant impact throughout Victoria.

The satisfaction table was also topped by ‘Promoting Victoria as a Destination’ which means that the BID’s robust and vibrant menu of events managed to showcase that Victoria is so much more than a gateway for people to pass through quickly.

On the other hand, businesses feel that there is a lot more that can be achieved in the range of ‘Environment and Sustainability’ projects, as their main concern is the Air Quality of the Area.

It was only two months ago when Victoria BID undertook a leading role in improving Victoria’s Air Quality and 12 businesses decided to join the cause by signing an Air Quality pledge to tackle air pollution in the area.

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Q4: Since 2010, the Victoria BID’s activities contributed to a 17% reduction in crime. Please rate how important the following are to you and your business, with 1 being unimportant and 5 important.

The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) guards and the additional patrols commissioned in conjunction with MPS and BTP are of critical importance for the business community in the area.

Doing business in a safe and secure environment is the number one priority for all investors in the area. The Facewatch project is considered as the least important but this is attributed to the fact that the respondents were mainly large corporations and not SME’s which make wide use of this deterrence tool.

The Safe and Secure projects received an overall high importance rating with most of them achieving an average rating of more than 4/5.

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Q5: The Victoria BID has strengthened the Environmental and Sustainability agenda for Victoria through the installation of green assets. Please rate how important the following are to you and your business, with 1 being unimportant and 5 important.

In the specific question on the Clean and Green theme, environmental projects received really high ratings, an indication that businesses consider environmental and sustainability schemes really important for the well-being of their employees. In particular, the ‘Environmental Ambassador’ and the ‘Dedicated Cleaning Team’ topped the importance index with 52.6% and 55% of respective respondents rating them as ‘Important’.

The BID Team has been working tirelessly to achieve a positive change in the physical landscape in Victoria and this is very positively perceived. The increase in green infrastructure not only benefits the environment, but also the employees, residents and visitors that come into the area on a daily basis. On the other hand, urban beekeeping seems to be losing ground.

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Q6: The Victoria BID has worked to boost Victoria’s economy encouraging a vibrant and rich mix of businesses to the area. Please rate how important the following are to you and your business, with 1 being unimportant and 5 important.

The Victoria Privilege Card scheme gained significant momentum over the past 2 years. The vast majority of businesses consider it to be a great success as it drives footfall and sales in the area. ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Volunteering’ is also in the spotlight indicating that Victoria BID needs to take an enhanced role to encourage corporate investment in the local communities. Almost 43% or the respondents agreed that the ‘Employment Scheme’ is ‘Somewhat Important’ as well.

Victoria BID has invested a significant amount of resources to its ‘Employment Scheme’ managing to place 62 local residents into jobs over the past year alone, generating an important amount of external funding. The ‘Employment Scheme’ provides a simple, flexible and responsive support package for SMEs and larger corporates wishing to appoint local people.

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Q7: A programme developed to showcase the area’s rich culture, heritage, retail and leisure offer, positioning Victoria as a destination of choice. Please rate how important are the following activities to you and your business, with 1 being unimportant and 5 being important.

One-off ‘Public Events’ within the BID’s footprint seem to be perceived really positively by our businesses which rated these projects with an average of 4.11 / 5 in the importance scale. The ‘Ambassadorial Service’ and the marketing campaigns to promote the area as a destination of choice also achieved significantly high rates.

Out of the five key projects delivered the ‘Deck Chairs’ in Lower Grosvenor Gardens were perceived with relative apathy. This either suggests that stakeholders are simply not aware of this service and/or do not see this service as significant to their employees.

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Q8: Showcasing Victoria is about changing perceptions of the area as a place to pass through quickly by working with local, national and international communications and press contacts. Please rate how satisfied you are with the following activities, with 1 being dissatisfied and 5 being satisfied.

There is an even distribution of satisfaction in the Showcase Victoria related projects. This shows that the majority of businesses feel that what has been done thus far is somewhat satisfactory; however, more needs to be done to boost up the showcasing of the area. Liaising with local stakeholders and WCC will help strengthen the image of Victoria in the national and international levels alike.

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Q9: What would you most like to see more of in Victoria in the future?

Shaping a better future for Victoria is at the very heart of the BID’s services. Over 73% of the respondents agreed that Victoria lacks green assets. In four years the BID has enhanced the green agenda for Victoria by installing green infrastructures across the area. However, there is a strong indication that local stakeholders want to see more positive change in the physical landscape.

What is interesting to mention is that ‘Events’ and additional ‘Public Art’ came in the second and third place respectively. It is generally agreed that cultural visitors spend substantially more than standard visitors do. A recent OECD report has highlighted the role that cultural tourism can play a critical role in local development.1 Victoria has a rich cultural offer and some of London’s best iconic sites; the respondents feel that the BID could do a lot more in this field by promoting Victoria as a modern, urban, cultural ‘pocket’ of London.

Another noticeable point is the significantly low percentage of respondents who think that ‘More Policing’ is no longer a top priority. This suggests that stakeholders positively view the BID’s range of activities relating to Safety and Security, which contributed an overall 17% reduction in crime.

1. OECD (2009) The Impact of Culture on Tourism. OECD, Paris

The same principle applies to Street Cleaning as well, as stakeholders perceive Victoria to be a lot cleaner compared to the past.

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Q10: Which of the following best describes your view of Victoria BID’s work over the past four years?

Overall, 89% of the stakeholders are either ‘Very Satisfied’ or ‘Somewhat Satisfied’ with Victoria BID’s work thus far. At the other end of the spectrum, only 2.7% view Victoria BID with declining confidence and consistent disappointment. The large percentage of positive answers for this question suggest that Victoria BID as an organisation is actually proving to have a positive effect in the business district and is meeting stakeholders‘ expectations.

On the other hand, the 8.2% representing ‘Neither Satisfied Nor Dissatisfied’ is of slight concern and probably reflects a number of critical factors aimed at Victoria BID in the last few years, whether it be increasing levy fatigue, criticism of the BID’s activities, or even the increasingly competitive local environment with other organisations / players coming on the scene which provide same or similar activities.

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Q11: Have you attended any Victoria BID events?

A quite balanced view with regards to the attendance of stakeholders to the BID’s events; 55% of stakeholders having attended several events organised by the BID as opposed to 45% that haven’t. The additional box provided gave the opportunity to the stakeholders to mention some details with most of them attending the Safe and Secure seminars and events, with Destination Victoria events closely following.

Q12: Have you visited Victoria BID’s website (www.victoriabid.co.uk)?

It is perhaps not surprising that the vast majority of stakeholders are aware of the BID’s web page which was visited more than 150,000 times over the past year alone. The 12.1% of stakeholders that have not visited the website might seem small; however this is an indication that there is a number of members that is unaware of the BID’s online presence.

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Q13: Would you like to be involved in the decision-making process regarding which projects and services we develop over the coming years?

Almost 50% of the stakeholders want to get involved in the decision making process regarding the future projects that the BID will undertake in the area. However, it is interesting to note that a significant percentage - 32.4% - replied ‘Maybe’. This suggests that an important number of stakeholders are not fully aware of the democratic foundation that the BID is built upon or they feel that the BID cannot influence significantly the decision making process at the local level.

Stakeholders need to be engaged so that the not feel excluded; this will enable them understand the decision making structure of the BID; because working with stakeholders, not for them, is at the epicentre of everything the BID does.

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Q14: Would you be in favour of Victoria BID renewing its term, bearing in mind the range of benefits it offers to both your business and the area?

The most critical question of the Perception Survey was to capture the vote intention of the stakeholders in the upcoming Renewal Ballot of February 2015. More than 82% showed their strong intention to see Victoria BID renewing its term for another five-year term. This suggests that the business community is overall satisfied from what the BID has offered thus far and feels that a second term will bring even more benefits to the area for businesses, visitors and residents alike.

Victoria BID has proven that businesses coming together for the greater good can fast track and implement changes that other authorities may not be able to deliver.

Almost 15% of the respondents are uncertain to whether the BID has delivered upon its promises thus they are sceptical on whether a second term would be beneficial. The BID needs to focus on these businesses that are sceptical by engaging directly with them, explaining the wide range of benefits that the BID brings to this area and pledge to deliver even more within the next five years.

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Q15: Which of the below phrases best describes how you speak about Victoria BID?

Nearly 85% of respondents would either speak ‘Positively Without Being Asked’ or ‘Positively When Asked’ of Victoria BID. Only 1.4% would be critical of Victoria BID in any capacity. 13.7% would be neutral, a figure which needs to be addressed during the Renewal Campaign. These large ‘Neutral’ voices represent opportunities for Victoria BID to turn them into positive voices. From this perspective it will be particularly interesting to note the results from future surveys on this point as a way to assess Victoria BID’s progress in terms of its overall perception in the area.

Q16 Do you know who your business’s voter will be at the renewal ballot?

This open ended question aimed to identify the voter within each organisation. However, almost 60% of respondents either skipped the question or replied that are unaware of the nominated voter for the organisation. Victoria BID team needs to ascertain that the current database of voters is up-to-date and address any potential shortcomings through a strong stakeholder engagement action plan.

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1) The vast majority of stakeholders are fully aware of the existence of the BID and the projects it delivers.

2) Some businesses are still unaware of the BID and the benefits it has for Victoria.

3) ‘Safety and Security’ is the most important factor for local businesses in the area; a safe and secure environment enables businesses to flourish.

4) Local stakeholders are overall ‘Satisfied’ with the wide range of projects that the BID has delivered over the past 4 years.

5) There is an outcry for more green assets and improved public realm in the area.

6) There is a significant uptake of the BID’s events and seminars.

7) The vast majority of businesses in the area are in favour of the BID Renewal.

8) Some businesses are sceptical of the BID renewing its term and prefer not to be involved in the decision making process.

9) The Victoria BID needs to address local concerns with regards to green assets and public realm improvements in the area.

Concluding Remarks

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Victoria is undergoing a major redevelopment and this is an ideal opportunity for the installation of green and blue infrastructures, transforming the area into a ‘Green Forefront’.

Apart from the large corporations based in Victoria, there is an important number of SME’s which the BID should engage more actively. BIDs are deeply democratic organisations and businesses should not feel excluded.

The large ‘Neutral’ voices need to be addressed through a targeted communications / engagement action plan as the BID will face the challenge to turn them into positive voices.

Recommendations

Victoria BID has thus far delivered a wide range of projects that had a positive impact on the wider area. The BID needs to keep up the good work and continue delivering its successful services. At the same time the BID needs to seize the opportunity to anticipate the practices that will drive the evolution of Victoria.

The next five years will be of critical importance for the BID as most of the major developments in Victoria will be delivered. The BID is presented with a unique opportunity to demonstrate value and take a leading role in attracting investors of international calibre, shape the physical land scape with sustainability in mind, and deliver a thriving local economy helping Victoria meet its potential. There is only one way forward and this is through sustainable business and development.

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