Courses / Workshops

Learn how to design and establish an effective competitive or marketing intelligence function, including intelligence requirements, processes, responsibilities, internal networks and communication with decision-makers.

An introduction to the principles and practice of competitive intelligence, covering the intelligence cycle from defining needs and gathering information to analysis, reporting and action.

Develop a practical toolkit of intelligence-gathering and analytical techniques. Topics can be selected and combined according to participants' roles, experience and organisational needs.

Learn how to present intelligence clearly to different audiences, select the right reporting format, distinguish evidence from interpretation and communicate conclusions that support action.

: Gain a broad introduction to gathering competitive intelligence ethically and effectively. The course covers open-source research, human intelligence, trade-show and conference research, social media, patent and financial information, AI-assisted research and other specialist sources. Topics can be selected and developed in greater depth according to participants' needs.

Develop advanced techniques for locating, verifying and evaluating online information. The course covers search strategy, specialist sources, websites, documents, databases and methods for finding information that standard searches may miss.

Learn how to gather intelligence ethically through interviews and other human sources. Topics can include source identification, interview preparation, questioning and elicitation techniques, listening and source evaluation.

Use social media and other online communities to investigate organisations, individuals, markets and emerging issues while recognising source limitations, misinformation and ethical considerations.

Learn how to plan and conduct intelligence gathering before, during and after an industry event, including competitor observation, interviewing, networking, source evaluation and structured reporting.

Explore how generative AI and related tools can support research, analysis and reporting. Participants learn effective prompting, output verification, responsible handling of sensitive information and practical integration into intelligence workflows — while recognising AI's limitations and retaining human judgement.

Learn how to investigate prospective acquisitions, partners, suppliers, companies and key individuals using online research, specialist information sources and structured analytical methods. The programme can also incorporate relevant KYC, ownership and reputational risk research.

Move beyond collecting facts to understanding what they mean. Learn how to assess competitor capabilities, intentions, strategies and likely responses using appropriate analytical frameworks.

Identify the forces shaping your market, explore critical uncertainties and construct alternative scenarios to help your organisation prepare for different possible futures.

Use structured simulation to explore how competitors and other market participants may respond to strategic decisions. War games help expose assumptions, identify vulnerabilities and test alternative courses of action.

Learn how to interpret financial statements, ratios and other financial information to assess competitors' performance, priorities, strengths, vulnerabilities and strategic direction.

Identify market opportunities using surveys, qualitative and quantitative research, observational methods and market-segmentation techniques. Develop skills in research planning, questionnaire design, sampling, evaluation and interpretation. The programme can focus on selected methods or provide an overview of the complete marketing research process.

Learn how to build a practical marketing plan — from market and competitor analysis to objectives, positioning and resource allocation. Particularly relevant for SMEs developing or refreshing their marketing strategy, but adaptable for larger organisations too.