Case Studies
Understanding the implications of a potential UK-EU SPS Agreement
Client - International food manufacturer operating in the UK, EU, MENA and North America.
Situation - Critical business need to understanding the potential strategic operational impacts of a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement on cross-border trade requirements including certification, food labelling regulations, compositional standards, packaging and food hygiene rules.
Approach - Mapping UK regulations that may in scope for realignment with EU regulations against business operations. Highlighting areas where divergence has created potential risks that will impact current operations and assessing potential cost implications for the business. Development and ongoing management of a regulatory risk register to monitor developments and potential impacts. Engagement and liaison with UK and EU regulatory authorities on behalf of the business. Ongoing, retained support providing advice at board level.
Impact - Increased business preparedness, informed contingency planning, development of financial models to account for a range of regulatory scenarios. Enhanced internal knowledge of the trade environment and improved decision making capabilities.
Evaluation of UK Free Trade Agreements following EU-Exit
Client - UK Government Department.
Situation - Seeking to understand the collective impact and value for money of post-EU Exit Free Trade Agreements on the UK agri-food sector including businesses, consumers, the environment and policy delivery and if these FTAs are delivering the outcomes originally intended.
Approach - Co-leading a collaborative, 3-year evaluation using system thinking informed Theory of Change and realist evaluation to understand how and why FTA policy interventions deliver results within this complex environment and uncover what works, for whom, and under what conditions. Includes sector-based case studies to build a richer picture of how FTAs operate in practice and participatory systems mapping with internal and external stakeholders to build a visual models of the relationships between variables in the FTA environment.
Impact - Ongoing reporting has provided valuable insights on approaches to stakeholder engagement in FTA policy development and negotiation, understanding of complexity in the FTA environment, relationships between industries in the agri-food sector and integration with the broader policy environment.
Geopolitical risk management for the agri-food chain
Client - International agri-food commodity trading company with operations in the UK, EU and North America.
Situation - Urgent business requirement to enhance knowledge and understand the impact of increasing fragmentation in international trade through volatility in policy approaches, tariffs and heightened geopolitical instability.
Approach - Comprehensive analysis of business exposure to changes in UK, US and EU trade policy and associated measures including tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Development and ongoing management of a trade policy dashboard to ensure that latest information is available to decision makers. Reviewing supply chain and contractual risk exposure to geopolitical instability and scenario testing to identify alternative sourcing to mitigate supply and price shock. Implementation of an intelligence and monitoring system enabling immediate awareness of external business critical events. Retained support providing ongoing advice at a board level.
Impact - Improved corporate decision making through enhanced internal knowledge and availability of timely, actionable information. Increased resilience to shocks through improved financial and contingency planning, review of contractual arrangements and understanding of upstream/downstream dependencies.
Training and capability development for agri-food exporters
Client - UK Devolved Government
Situation - Training and capability requirements identified for commercial agri-food organisations seeking to export to the EU and countries with which the UK has new FTAs following EU-Exit.
Approach - Development and delivery of a bespoke multi-day training package and export handbook tailored for the agri-food businesses. Provision of a comprehensive overview of the multilateral trading systems, the role and principles of the WTO including Agriculture, SPS, TBT, Rules of Origin and Environment; the UK-EU TCA and UK trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand. Development of a comprehensive end-to-end export development pathway for the agri-food sector including export health certification requirements, planning, market entry strategies and other regulatory considerations.
Impact - Delivered multiple occasions on behalf of the UK Devolved Government to agri-food sector organisations and now successfully transferred for internal delivery. Facilitated a direct increase in businesses actively engaging in export activity with existing and new markets. Feedback emphasised the strength of combining policy and legislation overviews with practical, actionable guidance.