JenaWirtschaft investigates corona consequences for local companies

Business development survey asks companies and the self-employed about their support needs

What are the consequences of the corona crisis for Jena's companies and self-employed and what support services are really being received by those affected? What else is needed? And what does the crisis mean for Jena as a business and science location as a whole? The Jena Economic Development Corporation (JenaWirtschaft) wants to answer these and other questions with the help of a survey of all Jena companies and the self-employed. The study is being scientifically supported by the Chair of Economic Geography at Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

Companies, institutions and the self-employed are currently under enormous economic pressure. For many, their very existence is at stake,

says Wilfried Röpke, Managing Director of the Economic Development Agency.

Our aim is to gather comprehensive feedback from all sectors in order to assess the short, medium and long-term effects on Jena as a business location. Only when we know which sectors are affected and to what extent can we advocate needs-based support services and provide companies with the best possible assistance,

says Röpke. According to the head of JenaWirtschaft, the data and information from companies and the self-employed are necessary in order to derive the most concrete recommendations for action possible for local politicians, but also for the state of Thuringia and the federal government.

Via the JenaWirtschaft database, companies and self-employed people from Jena - from the skilled trades to the service sector to the high-tech sector and from large companies to freelancers - were invited to take part. In addition, all Jena business networks are called upon to communicate the survey, which takes around 15 minutes to complete, to their members. Anyone who has not yet received access data for the survey - which will of course be conducted anonymously - can contact JenaWirtschaft.

According to Prof. Dr. Sebastian Henn from the Chair of Economic Geography, the participation of those directly affected is decisive for the significance of the study:

The more companies, self-employed and freelancers answer our questions, the clearer a picture we can draw of the actual impact of the corona pandemic on Jena as a business and science location and what measures are needed to effectively counter these effects.

The creators of the survey expect the first results at the beginning of June 2020.