How We Do It?

Your feasibility study is a crucial element that will ensure that the funding proposals are financially robust, watertight, reflect sustainability, are viable and reflect the needs, wants and aspirations not only of the local people, but also the wider stakeholders in the area- but critically, it is important to be aware of the specific requirements of the funders. This will help steer the study to make it ‘effective’ and prove that your idea is a goer.

Whenever we undertake a feasibility study we also:

FREE Explore the project’s potential in the short, medium and long term;
FREE Set milestones for the development of the projects
FREE Provide context in terms of the National and Local agendas for regeneration and community development.
FREE Provider an overview of best practice

Our Methodology for doing your feasibility study

Our methods for doing your project feasibility study will vary depending on the type of project. For example, if you wanted a feasibility study for a community building project we would use a different approach, than if you wanted one for an oil refinery, factory, retail business or new boiler in a school or perhaps a new leisure centre. The method below is an outline overview- it gives an idea, but for your project we will need to do a bespoke methodology that is suitable for your particular needs. One size never fits all. Whatever your project, be sure that we have got it covered.

Erica Hadley Jarret- one of our senior consultants in the feasibilities team

1. Strategic Planning

Ensure that the objectives of your idea match the economic development needs of the local area and are compatible with the wider county and regional economic development plans and strategies. This is important to ensure success in funding applications.
Clarification of the scope of service provision and the operational and management arrangements for the establishment in order to maximise impact

2. Project Planning, Design and Feasibility

Draw schematic of the premises area, initial assessment, costs as to alterations, fixtures and fittings, etc
Preparation of funding applications
Exploration of social enterprise potential of the project and linkages with other services
Identification of other potential sources of private and public sector capital and revenue funding, together with financial rationale

3. Project Management and Business Planning

Development of options for the structure and management of the facility including ongoing revenue funding and the role and contribution of partners in ensuring that the objectives and targets set for the centre are achieved
A clear recommendation of the favoured option together with full rationale
Financial modelling, both capital and revenue, to ensure the optimum development of the project over a 5 year period, including analysis of all options
Production of a detailed project programme identifying tasks and responsibilities

Overview of Key Tasks:-

Project Orientation with the Client Strategic Planning

Demand Analysis
Clarification of Required Size, Content and Specification of the Facility
Clarification of Optimum Service Provision

Project Planning Design and Feasibility

Preparation of Detailed Plans
Funding Strategy and Programme

Project Management and Business Planning

Options for Management of the Facility
Financial Plan
Project Implementation Programme
Project Implementation Programme

Task 1- Project Orientation with the Client

An initial meeting will be held with the client in order to agree the details of the study. We would first visit the key project officer and other stakeholders in order to understand

the rationale and required outcomes from the proposed project;
the mission statement, objectives and success criteria;
contributions and commitments from partner organisations.

To ensure highest quality and relevance of research outputs, points to be reviewed in detail at this meeting would include:

a detailed timetable for the complete assignment, including review meetings;
a full list of those interviewed, and issues to be covered;
options for action already being considered to which you may want reactions, without saying so to interviewees;
a mutually acceptable approach to presenting the information at interim and final report stage;
agreement as to the format standards and circulation procedures for reports and presentations;
agree any letters to go out from the client body to inform partners and interviewees about this evaluation work and to seek their co-operation.

At the preliminary client briefing meeting we will seek to clarify the particular project elements relevant to the further development of the programme. We will wish to identify the individuals who would have overall responsibility for supervision and direction of the project and its implementation.

Task 2- Consultation with Key Stakeholders

There will be a range of stakeholder bodies at local and regional level with an interest in the scope of the proposed project. These will be interviewed on a one to one basis to clarify the scope of their aspirations, to identify any concerns, and to seek their views and advice as to the key factors that will make the project successful and capable of achieving the range of impacts aspired to. This will include bodies such as relevant local universities and colleges, business Link and other business support organisations, the local authorities and other bodies with a key interest in the development of the centre.

Task 3 - Updated Demand Analysis

Our aim at this stage of the project will be to:

validate the level of demand which may exist for the proposed project;
test the proposed support service offer and associated services, in order to ascertain/verify that this would match demand;
as part of the market testing, we will also explore and validate the level of service provision for businesses which have not yet started, such as the provision of hot desks, preliminary business education and fast track start-up advice.

We will assess potential demand for occupancy of potential incubator agencies such as Business Link highlighting any particular activities and elements which should be incorporated more generally within such a scheme.

i) Analysis of Sector Structures and Trends

We will first assess the existing business base and sectors the local economy in terms of employment trends highlighting the degree of additionality of similar projects in the area with city, county and regional comparisons, the overall employment characteristics, and relative strength, vulnerability or dependence on individual sectors.

ii) Review of Existing provision

iii) Assessment of Potential Demand

iv) Assessment of Mainstream Commercial Demand

Contact will also be made with inward investment officers of the surrounding districts and selected commercial property agents to identify the extent of need.

iv) Survey of Local Agencies

v) Working Paper on Demand Profile

Following this, we will set out the identified demand profile, segmentation and size estimates of the number of potential customers.

Task 4 - Scope of Optional Company Survey

We will interview a suitable sample of similar projects across the county, to gather information on the following aspects.

The growth and expansion plans and aspirations.
The nature of any factors that currently constrain growth types of commercial property best suited to meeting expansion plans.
The particular areas of support which would have greatest impact on the growth and development of their social business; this will use a combination of unprompted and prompted questions to draw out the relevant support needs and issues.
Their views as to how such services could best be delivered, including willingness or otherwise to participate in collaborative sector initiatives.
Their attitudes towards contracting into/out such services.
Their willingness to be re-contacted by appropriate business support intermediary agencies to discuss support needs and delivery in further depth.

Task 5 - Clarification of Required Size, Content and Specification of the Facility

Following this we will prepare a scoping document for the project. This would seek to have reconciled different views on aims and natures of the project as far as possible. It will seek to clarify the required functionality and purpose of the centre. This would specify:

Task 6 - Clarification of Optimum Service Provision

Task 7 - Preparation of Designs

Task 8 - Cost Plan

Task 9 - Funding Strategy and Programme

Task 10 - Project Management and Business Planning- Options for Management of the Facility

We will advise on a suitable management structure for delivery of the scheme, including proposals as to which organisations should be represented, and the specialist skills and experience that would need to be included within the board or steering group for the project.

We would also seek to identify the management practices in other centres and the nature of specialist support services, e.g., sector specific business advice and support.

Task 11 - Financial Plan

A full costing plan will be drawn up for each of the programme elements drawn up in detail in the Action Plan and selected site development option. This will take account of associated capital and revenue costs that could be generated from the uses under consideration. From this a comprehensive list of costs and projected income generation will be presented.

The project costing will set out the cost of taking forward the project from conception to delivery and opening, together with an operational budget for the first five years. This will include the costs of fund raising, management of the capital project, site acquisition, contract negotiations, business development activity and day to day maintenance and management of the project.

The success of the project will be judged in financial terms in value for money criteria and by the possible level of public and private sector support that leavers into the area.

In addition, a risk assessment will be provided to assess the costs and consequences of overruns and delays to the project, and the measures needed to avoid them.

A financial plan, incorporating relevant “what if” scenarios, will be prepared to indicate the levels income necessary to ensure the project is viable. It will also set out an indicative capital investment programme detailing sources of funds against costed proposals.

Task 12 - Project Implementation Programme

We will produce a detailed GANTT providing each element of the design, planning and capital works at implementation stage, highlighting the critical path and key milestones,

Task 13 - Defining the Business Model and Prepare Business Plan

Having established a clear business case, we will then set out the business model.

This will specify:

justification for the project;
target occupants and demand justification;
configuration of building;
configuration of internal services;
external services and how brokered;
finance model;
proposals for delivery of the Youth Café and Job Shop;
centre management roles;
proposed centre management option;
delivery methods and programmes;
risk assessment/risk mitigation.

Task 14 - Addressing the Risks

A risk assessment will be carried out based on a core model representing the best mix of commercial criteria, then the sensitivities around it will be examined.

The risk assessment will be based on

Models aspired to by the partners;
Identification of alternative scenarios, options and consequences;
Impacts of key risk elements on business viability.

Based on this assessment we will refine the business model and highlight key risk minimisation measures which need to be incorporated within the business plan.

Task 15 - Institutional and Management Arrangements

The business plan will set out all necessary institutional arrangements, which will include:

Board membership and representation; management structure;
Delivering the project;
Managing the centre;
Tying in involvement of key partner organisations; monitoring, control and reporting.

Particular factors that will need to determine the appropriate management structure will include:

The range of management skills needed to run the centre as defined,
What is the best model for centre management, e.g. private provision v. a university department and the motivation and incentives required for this to work effectively.
How to ensure that the required range of dynamics and added value are achieved and how these must be built into the management structure and processes.

We will explore with the partners and stakeholders a range of alternative models and come up with one which meets their detailed collective requirements.

Task 16 - Implementation Plan and Programme

The business plan will spell out arrangements for implementation, based on defined objectives, priorities and key deliverables. It will define how the various functions will be prioritised and rolled out and in what timescale, including:

interim project management arrangements and programme;
establishment of permanent management and staffing structure;
delivery methods, targets and key milestones;
co-ordination and monitoring methods;
mechanisms for performance monitoring and measurement;
areas of cross-referral to other strategic activities;
reporting structure and accountability relative to key parties;
roles, responsibilities and resource contributions from partner organisations.