Understand what businesses are thinking and why it matters
Whether you're developing policy, shaping strategy or exploring new opportunities, understanding what businesses are experiencing can provide valuable context for better decision-making.
CBI Economics combines bespoke research with one of the UK's most extensive business networks to provide timely insight into business sentiment, market conditions and emerging challenges. Our research helps organisations move beyond assumptions, providing a stronger foundation for strategy, policy and stakeholder engagement.
The best decisions are informed by the people closest to the challenge.
Understanding business sentiment is about more than collecting responses. It's about uncovering the insight behind the data and turning it into practical recommendations.
We help organisations to:
- Understand business sentiment across sectors, regions and markets
- Explore emerging trends, challenges and opportunities
- Gather independent insight to inform policy and strategy
- Build thought leadership supported by robust research
- Strengthen decision-making through evidence-based recommendations.
Our approach includes:
- Bespoke business surveys
- Stakeholder interviews and roundtables
- Market and sentiment analysis
- Insight reporting and practical recommendations.
Why CBI Economics?
Insight is only valuable if it's representative, relevant and actionable.
Our access to one of the UK's largest business networks, combined with our economic expertise, enables us to capture the views of organisations across sectors, regions and sizes. We don't just report what businesses think, we help organisations understand what those views mean and how they can inform better decisions.
Evidence in action
Understanding how business and academia can work together
The University of Exeter wanted to understand how stronger collaboration between businesses and universities could help address skills shortages and support innovation.
CBI Economics surveyed more than 230 employers across the UK to explore the barriers, opportunities and motivations behind business-academic collaboration. The findings identified significant demand for partnerships to address emerging skills needs, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, and informed recommendations to strengthen collaboration between industry and higher education.
Client perspective
"We're really proud of our long-standing relationship with the CBI at a regional and national level. The Economics team provided expertise and insight that helped us shape a compelling piece of work that was robust, relevant and had impact for both of our audiences."
Alan Gallacher
Nexus, University of Leeds