Effectiveness of Small Business Victoria’s Support Programs

Tabled: 23 March 2011

Overview

This audit focused on Time to Thrive's (TTT) eight programs delivered by Small Business Victoria (SBV): the Business Victoria website also known as World Class Service (WCS); the Fair Payments Policy Advocacy; and a suite of six support programs designed to assist current and prospective small business operators to start or grow their businesses. Funding for these eight programs comprised $38.4 million of the $98 million budget for TTT programs.

The TTT and its two major support programs, the WCS and Fair Payments Policy Advocacy, were appropriately planned. They were underpinned by robust business cases which included an analysis of the options considered to address the identified needs.

On the other hand, the six remaining programs did not have business cases analysing the options from which they were selected. This meant that there was limited assurance that these six programs represented best use of their four-year budget allocation of $20.4 million.

All programs were monitored and evaluated regularly to inform program management and delivery. SBV can improve its evaluations by using efficiency indicators and more objective effectiveness indicators, in addition to relying on the feedback of program participants.

The evaluations conducted by SBV indicate that the programs’ objectives were achieved over the four-year period 2006–10. Participating small business operators—both current and prospective—found that the programs assisted them in obtaining relevant business information and making better informed business decisions.

While the support programs were well received, participation rates were low. Given the significant infrastructure created through WCS, there is potential for the state to get better leverage from its investment through increased participation rates.

The low rates of participation means that a significant number of current and prospective small business operators have not benefited from subsidised assistance that could better prepare them to start or grow their businesses.