Every project exists within its environment, and its success is, to some extent, influenced by external factors – this is especially important for innovative projects that cannot rely on the example of existing ones. This makes PESTLE an important tool in support of innovative projects, such as RELIANCE.

WHAT IS PESTLE?
PESTLE is a strategic management tool that contains a simple structure that enables a systematic assessment of external factors that can potentially impact the project’s success.

As its name suggests, PESTLE is about assessing the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors connected to the project’s objectives. It helps in understanding the project's macro-environment, identifying potential threats and opportunities for innovation, and supporting marketing and communication strategies.

• Political factors refer to elements such as political stability in the region, the regulatory environment, funding policies, and R&D incentives. These are particularly important for research projects relying on public funding. These aspects will also impact the investment levels, which in turn affect the market uptake of the innovative products.
• Economic factors include aspects such as economic growth/slowdown, business investment, interest and inflation rates, public spending, spending habits, labour costs, raw material costs, and exchange rates. These elements will impact the market uptake of innovations.
• Social factors involve population growth, age, lifestyle, attitudes, and opinions. Their characteristics are determinant for the success of an innovation in the market.
• Technological factors include factors such as the level of innovation in the area, the technological maturity of the market concerned, technological awareness, and new ways of communicating.
• Legal factors include consumer rights and laws, as well as product labelling and product safety standards. They are particularly important for innovative products.
• Environmental factors relate to environmental changes that can affect business practices, as well as to the environment-related policies.

WHEN TO START WITH PESTLE?
PESTLE can be highly valuable from the very conception of the research project. From early stages, it helps identify the opportunities that the environment offers and the threats that can challenge the project and its results.

PESTLE should be conducted at important milestones of a research project to reassess the project’s feasibility in a constantly evolving world.

Contributor: Dr. Arbesa Shehu Gremaud, HES-SO, Switzerland