Robust, accurate and comprehensive research underpins the public advocacy and representation work undertaken by the BVCA. But how do we ensure we have good processes, up to date methodologies and cross-European consistency of data? Martin Senk and Hind Jbala from the BVCA Research team report on how we are collaborating with Invest Europe and other European trade associations to achieve this.
The European Data Cooperative (EDC) plays a vital role in fostering collaboration among national associations representing private capital firms across Europe. At its heart, the EDC platform serves as a hub for European trade associations, bringing them together to collect investment activity and performance data of private capital firms alongside portfolio-level sustainability and economic impact metrics. Having a single platform allows for consistency of reporting and publication of robust pan-European statistics that are comparable across countries. The EDC’s commitment to data protection and stringent privacy measures also help to instil confidence among data contributors.
To ensure the EDC platform remains fit for purpose, methodologies reflect latest market trends, and research team representatives talk a on a weekly basis. We also get together every six months for an operational board meeting including a deep dive into methodologies. The most recent operational board meeting took place on 14-15 November in Bucharest with the BVCA research team in attendance.
During the meeting, national associations discussed a variety of topics and shared best practices on collecting and analysing data. Key items on last week’s agenda were:
- Methodology review and approaches to data collection
- Platform improvements to make the data submission process as seamless as possible
- Optimisation of internal processes including data analysis tools
- Survey timelines and response rates
It was a productive discussion on operational improvements to the platform with particular emphasis on cybersecurity. The BVCA research team is also involved in the design of a new UI/UX platform interface to make data submission easier and more intuitive for General Partners.
The collaborative spirit during these meetings is evident with trade associations actively working together to strengthen cooperation and continually develop the platform since the inception of the EDC project back in 2011.
We very much look forward to seeing our international research colleagues again in person during the next meeting which will be hosted by the Spanish association in the summer of 2024.
For any questions on the European Data Cooperative or our research in general, please contact us on research@bvca.co.uk.
Footnotes:
- The European Data Cooperative is owned and managed by European NVCAs.
- The EDC platform can be accessed here.