The Scottish Government

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2. Methodology

2.1 We built a multicultural team within Steer Davies Gleave, with most of the researchers being native speakers of the countries researched to complete this broad research.

2.2 The team had experience in the analysis of island and coastal ferry services in Scotland and other regions and countries, detailed expertise and experience in the analysis and development of transport tendering, risk allocation and tendering regimes for a range of transport modes and knowledge and recent experience of the EU regulatory process.

Research Approach

2.3 In order to complete the study within the timescale set out in the terms of reference and within the budget set out in Steer Davies Gleave proposal, we adopted a desk-based research approach that consists primarily of the review of existing published data (either in print or on the internet). The data in the different countries are not homogenous, and while some countries have websites and much information available, others do not.

2.4 When appropriate, and in order to fill these gaps, this research approach was complemented with direct telephone contacts with identified representatives of the key organisations. These interviews were carried out by our own professional staff in the native language of the respondents, in almost all cases relying on native speakers. The interview was semi-structured, and followed a questionnaire developed by the expert team in the inception phase of the assignment.

2.5 In most cases, these contacts were very cooperative, but in others not. As a result, the quality of data available is variable from one country to another.

2.6 The key contacts interviewed were:

• The European Commission;
• The relevant national (or provincial/regional) government departments responsible for the administration of the PSO ferry services in each country; and
• Ferry operators responsible for PSO services.

2.7 All the interviews were carried out by telephone, with the exception of the interview with the Commission, for which SDG consultants went to Brussels to conduct a face-to-face interview.

Project Programme

2.8 The following paragraphs outline the work programme carried out. The overall programme for the study had a duration of approximately 10 weeks. Despite the tight timescales, Steer Davies Gleave has achieved the objectives set out for this study.

2.9 Our overall approach has been divided into 3 distinct sections: an inception stage, the research stage and subsequent analysis stage. The diagram below shows the elements contained within each stage.

Figure 2.1 Proposed Work Programme

Stage 1 - Inception, Scoping, Briefing

2.10 In this stage, the data held by the Scottish Executive was reviewed as well as the classification and identification of ferry services for study. All the key issues of concern within the Scottish Executive were clearly understood in this phase and in particular the areas of risk that have been identified as being of particular importance to the Scottish routes.

2.11 The output from this stage was a definitive list of EU ferry services for review and the full scope of the interview programme. This latter element included, where possible, the contacts to be established with the relevant organisations and personnel. However, during the next phase some of these contacts had to be changed in order to interview the most suitable person.

Stage 2 - Research: Country by Country Data

EU member countries
2.12 To cover the research and analysis within the 10 week period, the work programme required short, effective analysis of the EU member states who provide subsidised ferry services. As discussed earlier, in order to achieve the maximum efficiency we used native speakers who could quickly identify and target the research.

2.13 We eliminated the landlocked countries of Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg and Slovakia from the survey of EU-25 countries.

2.14 We have been able to cover the countries shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Countries Included in this Study

2.15 We concluded our research on Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Cyprus and Slovenia early on in the research process, by confirming that there are no publicly subsidised ferry services in these countries.

2.16 For the rest of the countries we took an approach that was broadly consistent, but at the same time flexible according to data availability and responses received. The data required fell into two basic categories: the nature of the ferry service; and the way in which risk is identified and handled.

2.17 The phone interviews, however, have proven to be more difficult than we had anticipated, in particular with respect to identifying the correct administrator who dealt with maritime cabotage and PSOs, and who could and would respond to our queries. The different sources and contacts used in the research are shown in Appendix A.

2.18 We failed to contact anyone in Estonia within the study timeframe, and therefore the current study only contains partial information about ferry service in Estonia.

Data analysis
2.19 Ideally, we would like to have complete sets of comparable data that could be analysed in a uniform way in order to assist the development of policy for Scotland. However, there are gaps in the data provided by different countries, and their very different operating conditions make direct comparisons difficult. Key relevant issues for the objectives of the Scottish Executive have been drawn out in Deliverable Two in order to identify approaches which could be adopted by the Executive in the next phase of this project.

Stage 3 - Analysis and Reporting

2.20 The core team was responsible for reviewing the findings of the desk research and compiling all the information.

2.21 The findings at this stage are crucial for the development of the next phase of this study and as such the analysis will be carried out with a view to ensuring knowledge acquired in this phase is easily assimilated by the client.

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