Data Sources

Decision Support Tools

Data Sources

Data Sources (external)

Local Authorities
Chambers of Commerce
Industry Trends

Market Analysis in journals and newspapers

The Economist
Management Today (Britain's Best Factories)
Financial Times
Price Waterhouse

Databases

National Database (Confederation of British Industry)
Reedbase - CD ROM databases of UK (200,000 companies), Europe (420,000), Asia-Pacific (360,000). For further information contact: Reed Information Services, Windsor Court, Grinstead House, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 1XA. Tel +44(0)1342 335671, Fax +44(0)1342 335652.
The Strategic Planning Society, 17 Portland Place, London W1N 3AF (Tel: 0171 636 7737. Fax: 0171 323 1692) - a membership society (academic and industry, 4,500 members) that runs workshops and produces a journal and newsletter.

Internet

Many of these sources serve data on the internet. Some are free to all users, some require membership and usually some form of payment. Data quality (i.e. 'truth', accuracy, completeness, timeliness, perspective) may vary from source to source.

Public gateways such as the Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG) can be very useful. "This service aims to provide a trusted source of selected, high quality Internet information for researchers and practitioners in the social sciences, business and law. It is part of the UK Resource Discovery Network."