| 2.2 The business environment and planning assumptions All organisations need to be able to interpret and respond to information and signals from the outside world (the business environment) in which they operate. At UCAS, monitoring of the business environment is undertaken via direct stakeholder engagement, using the Company's risk management strategy (see section 3.3.2) and a variety of other management tools.
As a result of this environmental analysis, a number of assumptions have been used to inform the overall direction and future shape of the Company, as encapsulated in this plan. Such assumptions also provide a vital warning and control mechanism and must be constantly monitored for any changes. Any significant changes in the assumptions will necessitate a review of the Business Plan, in order to capitalise on, or minimise, the effect of the change.
The main assumptions upon which the plan is based are that:
- Technology and the way it is used will continue to advance, and customers (HEIs and students) will expect to access services using the most up-to-date and relevant methods
- Customers, and other stakeholders, will demand ever-more flexible and customer-centric delivery of services and products
- External policies and initiatives will continue to influence and challenge Company processes, services and products
- Member institutions and key stakeholders will support the responsible exploitation of commercial opportunities by UCAS commercial subsidiaries
- There will be continuing globalisation of higher education resulting in both increased opportunities and threats for a Company which serves the UK HE sector
- The Prime Minister's Initiatives on international education will continue to emphasise the importance of international students to the UK higher education market
- After 2010, demographic changes will lead to a drop in the number of UK based school-age students available to progress into HE, particularly amongst the Widening Participation cohort
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