87481Discovery 2 Recovery – Business Analysis Tool DevelopmentClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UK**The Problem** Many UK SME's are struggling to survive and some have ceased trading as a consequence of not being able to develop and enact effective contingency plans to cope with the impact of Covid-19 on their operations. To confirm this, we conducted a series of surveys backed up with interviews with SME business owners. We found that: \* at the start of lockdown 93% of small businesses did not have a plan that could act as a 'route map' and inform their decision making and how to cope with changing circumstances \* those businesses that developed an effective plan remained viable as of July 2020 \* some of those businesses that failed to plan for and accommodate restrictions have now ceased trading. **What are the objectives?** To conduct novel R&D to create a new business modelling, analysis and planning tools to enable businesses to sustainably recover from the impacts of Covid-19 and the continue to prosper **What research and development will we undertake?** Through the combined use of polling, facilitated virtual workshops and 1-2-1 interviews we will research the factors, actions and omissions that determine the difference between businesses that have bounced back and those that continue to struggle. We will develop a new business modelling system and associated algorithms which will analyse complex interactions between factors affecting how well businesses can sustainably recover from the impacts of Covid-19 and adapt to possible changing internal and external circumstances. Ideally by the end of the project we hope to have a market-ready product. However, with innovation comes risk. We expect, at least, to have created and fully tested a beta version prototype of the new Covid-19 Sustainable Recovery Tool comprising a versatile and adaptable 'branching' questionnaire, business analysis programme and resulting customer reports. **How and why is this innovative?** The current state of the art currently only acts as a triage tool for accredited consultants. The R&D will result in a new way of analysing business capabilities to reveal and help mitigate hidden issues that nevertheless exist and act to block or severely inhibit the ability of SMEs to recover and plan for the new normal.