Belfast City Council has selected Benchmark Index, a suite of assessment tools designed to strengthen business resilience and accelerate growth, to support its national business support service, Go Succeed. GC Insight has developed three Benchmark Index customised, data-driven benchmarking tools that provide both entrepreneurs and scaling businesses with a structured framework for decision-making. The tools will help businesses identify opportunities, minimise risk and sharpen their strategic focus.
Northern Ireland’s business landscape is dominated by micro-enterprises, with nearly 89% of businesses employing fewer than ten people, more than other UK regions. While 61% of businesses anticipate growth over the next year, many face the same barriers as businesses in other UK regions, such as access to finance, skill shortages and inflationary pressures. Go Succeed’s Grow and Scale programmes aim to address these concerns by offering businesses structured insights and expert mentorship.
“Benchmarking and diagnostic tools are routinely used by large companies to provide objective insight into their business,” said Mark Modena, GC Insight’s Director of Performance Improvement Services. “By using the insights provided by this data to underpin their offering, Go Succeed is providing businesses of all sizes - from start-ups to established businesses - the same competitive advantage.”
The tools adopted from the range of Benchmark Index tools available are:
Business Model Assessment – enables businesses to quickly identify strengths and weaknesses, providing the foundation for re-calibrating their business model to drive growth and increased productivity.
Risk and Resilience Assessment – helps small business owners assess their strength and ability to withstand changes so that they can continue to trade profitably.
Entrepreneurship Profile Tool – quick snapshot to help business leaders review recent business performance and progress traits, as well as reflecting growth aspirations.
As part of the service rollout, GC Insight conducted a series of training sessions for Go Succeed mentors who directly support businesses. Early feedback demonstrates strong enthusiasm for the assessments, with mentors praising the tools for their relevance, insight, ease of use and ability to enhance strategic discussions with business leaders. The tools are being launched at the start of June 2025.
Go Succeed is a new, unified, national approach to business support, offered across all 11 councils in Northern Ireland to businesses of all sizes. In addition to Benchmark Index, the scheme provides comprehensive guidance, support and resources tailored to each business’s needs.
Discover more about Benchmark Index and our suite of performance tools here. If you would like to discuss your project or request a demo, reach out to Mark Modena at mark.modena@gcinsight.co.uk.
