East Suffolk Council

Pestle Analysis [C/S]

PESTLE analysis is used to understand the possible impact of the external environment on a project or programme. P stands for Political, E for Economic, S for Social, T for Technological, L for Legal and E for Environmental. The key questions asked in a PESTLE analysis are as follows:

• What is the political situation, how could this change in the future and how might this impact on community plans?
• What are the key economic factors (e.g. inflation rate, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, economic growth patterns?)
• How much importance do social factors and culture have e.g. trends and demographics including population change etc.?
• What technological innovations may have a favourable or unfavourable impact on the community or this specific project?
• Is there any current legislation (i.e. laws) that might regulate the way in which the community wants to deliver its ambitions?
• What are the environmental concerns? These could include tourism, farming, agriculture, climate, weather, flooding, geographical location etc.

How important each factor is will vary by community and by project, but a PESTLE analysis can provide a useful overview of the external factors that may impact on implementation of key projects. It is a useful tool for understanding the ‘big picture’.