Making a Feasibility Study Application to the Local Enterprise Office (LEO)
The LEO will consider applications for feasibility study grants towards the development of innovative product / service ideas not already in the marketplace, where the promoter has already conducted extensive market research into the idea, but assistance is required to move the concept nearer to market readiness, and work is required to further develop the product / service prototype or delivery and it is expected that it will be market ready in less than 12 months.
The aim of a Feasibility Study Grant is to help start-up companies or individual entrepreneurs with the cost of researching their proposed business or new business idea to see if it could be viable and sustainable. The study should help the promoter to reach firm conclusions about their business idea and give them the information they need to draw up a full business plan.
Financial support will not be available for R&D or pure market research type projects. We would refer you to innovation vouchers at this stage of development.
Financial assistance of up to €15,000 or 50% can be given to feasibility study expenditure of €30,000.
To make an application, contact the LEO to discuss your idea and arrange a meeting if it is deemed eligible, an application must then be lodged, and a further meeting will be arranged with the project executive to discuss the detail of your proposal.
It will then be being presented to the Evaluation Committee for consideration.
How to write your Feasibility Study Application
In submitting your application to the LEO, an application & a written application to the LEO must contain the following information under the following headings:
- Background of promoter
- Background to the Idea
- The proposed Concept (product or service)
- Scope of the feasibility study
- Background on the Market
- Information on the Potential Market
- Market research conducted to date
Work Programme of further research that needs to be conducted & by whom under the following areas:
- Product / Service Development
- Market Potential & Route to Market
- Technical / Production Requirements
- Financial Viability & Funding options
- Legal / Organisational Requirements
- Business Plan
- Costs involved in conducting the feasibility study
- Details & Quotations for any outsourced work
- Any other material deemed relevant
If you can provide the above information & prove you have undertaken market research & validated the current market place to some extent, then we may consider an application in relation to funding for further finalisation /prototype development or consultancy costs relating to moving the idea forward to market readiness.
How do I apply for the grant?
You need to contact your local LEO to discuss your application.
If applying for this grant, you should show that:
- you have done enough preliminary research to suggest that a full feasibility study is worthwhile;
- and there is a reasonable possibility that there is a valid business idea & a proven arising from the study
- And that it has real local job creation potential.
If you need assistance with this prior to applying for a feasibility study grant as a first step, a mentor appointed by the LEO can assist you in relation to product development & market research as well as building a value proposition.
Applications are considered on a case by case basis.
Eligibility
For more information on financial supports available from the LEO including information on eligibility, please see www.localenterprise.ie
Please note that you can now download your Feasability Study Grant Application Form As Gaeilge also:
- Application Form As Gaeilge - EForm
- Application Form As Gaeilge - Printed Version Form
