SFEDI publishes the SFEDI Business Support Standards

SFEDI has published the SFEDI Business Support Standards, a current benchmark for everyone who supports people to start, run and grow a business. The 42 Standards set out what good business support looks like, and what business advisers, mentors, coaches, consultants and trainers need to be able to do and to know.

The Standards are free to read, download and use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives licence (CC BY-ND 4.0). You can browse them now at sfedi.co.uk/standards.

Built on SFEDI's national standards

SFEDI developed the national standards for business support between 2007 and 2010: the Introduction to Enterprise Support standards in 2007, the Business Information standards in 2008 and the Business Support standards in 2010. They were updated in 2013 as the national Business and Enterprise Support standards, with a review due in 2016, and have not been updated since. They are now classed as legacy, and will be archived from the UK's National Occupational Standards database on 11 November 2026.

The SFEDI Business Support Standards are the evolution of that work. They keep what has stood the test of practice, and every Standard shows the original standards it evolved from. The lineage tables on How the Standards evolved show where each of the 32 original units, and the 22 units of the 2013 update, has gone.

What's in the Standards

• 8 Core Standards (C1 to C8), the main functions every business support professional is expected to meet, from building client relationships and diagnosing needs to evidencing impact and practising ethically
• 25 Specialist Standards (S1 to S25), covering areas of specialist practice such as business finance, AI and digital adoption, mentoring, coaching, social enterprise and supporting businesses in difficulty
• 4 Business Information Standards (I1 to I4), for enquiry, helpline and front-line navigator roles
• 5 Introduction to Business Support Standards (E1 to E5), for people new to business support or thinking of moving into it
• 11 professional behaviours (B1 to B11), which apply to every Standard

Each Standard keeps the format of the originals: a summary, what you need to show, what you need to know and understand, and the standards it evolved from. Every requirement has its own permanent code (for example C1.3 or S3.K2), so job roles, programmes and evidence can be mapped to it precisely.

What has changed

Business support has changed a great deal since 2013. Advisers work by video and online as much as face to face, businesses need help with AI, net zero and cyber security, and commissioners expect evidence of impact, not just activity. This edition:

• adds new Specialist Standards in AI and digital adoption, business resilience, supporting businesses in difficulty, rural and land-based business, creative industries, and inclusive engagement with under-represented businesses, among others
• sets out ethical and professional practice as a Standard in its own right (C7)
• draws measuring and evidencing impact together into a single Standard (C5)
• builds data protection, remote and digital delivery, and the responsible use of AI into the Core Standards
• gives mentoring and coaching their own Specialist Standards
• removes dated references and merges duplicated units

How the Standards can be used

Professionals can use them to assess their own practice, plan their CPD and show clients and employers what they can do. Employers and commissioners can use them to write job descriptions, recruit and develop staff, and specify the quality of support they expect from providers.

Specialist Certification is coming soon, so that professionals can be certified against a Specialist Standard. Training and CPD providers will also be able to map their programmes to the Standards and apply to SFEDI for recognition.

"The national standards for business support haven't been touched since 2013, and in November they come off the national database. We wrote the originals, so it was right that we brought them up to date. The SFEDI Business Support Standards give the profession a current benchmark again, and anyone can use them for free."

Leigh Sear, Standards Lead, SFEDI

Read more about the Standards, or get in touch with the Business Support Team at support@sfedi.co.uk to talk about using them in your organisation.