Service and Interaction Design Lead, UK Government – Department for International Trade
Export Plan: Turning export ambition into practical growth plans for SMEs
Helping small businesses turn export ambition into a clear, actionable plans
Context and Challenge
After learning the basics of exporting, many small businesses still struggled to turn knowledge into action. Each regional team used its own spreadsheet or PDF template for export planning, making progress difficult to compare and creating inconsistent adviser support.
Create an Export Plan introduced one guided, digital framework for every UK business. It helped exporters consolidate what they had learned, map their next steps, and share structured plans with advisers, transforming scattered templates into a single, national planning tool.
Insight
Research showed that exporters lacked clarity. Businesses wanted:
examples rather than empty forms
reassurance that they were “doing it right”
guidance grounded in real product and market context
Ministers and advisers wanted a shared system that could help them identify promising exporters earlier.
We learned the Export Plan had to work in two modes at once:
A teaching tool that guides reflection and builds exporter confidence
A diagnostic tool that surfaces consistent, usable data for trade support teams
Every plan needed to help people think and help the department act.
Approach
Designed a guided planning journey
Taught through doing, breaking complex export goals into small, achievable steps.
Embedded learning in context
Included examples, definitions, and real market and cost data so users always understood why a question mattered, and didn’t have to flip between browser tabs.
Created flexibility
Users could complete sections in any order, return later, and track progress automatically.
Integrated adviser visibility
Connected with Data Hub, the department’s bespoke CRM, giving advisers live access to plans, readiness indicators, and product information.
Applied joined-up design principles
Carried through Learn How to Export principles:
Ask once, use everywhere
Progress, not perfection
Made it inclusive and engaging
Supportive tone, clear steps and personalisation ensured the plan worked for any time-poor business owner.
Outcomes
Became the first national, consistent export-plan framework for UK businesses.
Reduced regional duplication and adviser administrative effort through standardisation.
Enabled advisers to identify export-ready businesses earlier through Data Hub integration.
Strengthened continuity between learning, planning, and trade support, forming a coherent exporter experience.
Between 2017 and 2019, thousands of businesses completed their first digital export plan, contributing to £24.4 billion in export wins across the wider ecosystem.
Director, furniture producer
Liverpool
“It felt like someone was guiding me, not judging me.”
International Trade Adviser
North West England
“We can see where a business is in their journey straight away. It’s made our first conversations much more focused.”
