What Is A Feasibility Study?
An asset transfer may represent a significant financial commitment for your organisation and for the public sector organisation transferring it to you. Because of this, it would be unwise to go ahead without a feasibility study.
A feasibility study is fundamentally a piece of work to look at whether a proposed project is viable and sustainable or not. This can include financial viability (eg will the membership or entry fees cover the costs?) and the practical viability (eg will the local community use the facility in sufficient numbers?). It should also look at local competition such as how this facility will ‘fit’ with other community sports resources and other calls on the time of prospective users. It can also take in the asset itself – can it really offer all that your organisation needs?
It is important to recognise with feasibility studies that they can only answer the questions asked of them. So, if you only focus on financial viability, you may miss the fact that the land is big enough for a hockey pitch but there won’t be anywhere for the spectators to stand.
A study may indicate that a swimming pool can be re-opened but this means nothing unless there is some indication that the local community wants it to re-open and will use it.
Is A Feasibility Study Essential?
Some prospective funders (or partner organisations) may insist on a feasibility study, particularly for an ambitious or unusual project. For an organisation embarking on a project they have never done before, a feasibility study may be an essential part of the learning process. We strongly recommend that groups considering taking over an asset undertake a feasibility study. Such studies can be expensive but it may not always be necessary to undertake a full-scale study.
Who Should Undertake A Feasibility Study?
There are agencies which specialise in feasibility studies and who will know the questions that should be asked and how best to find the answers. The disadvantage of using an external organisation is that it can be expensive and they will not necessarily know your members, the community or locality as well as you know them.
Undertaking a feasibility study yourselves may use up valuable staff time, and the study ultimately may not have the credibility that using a specialist agency would give it. However, it may give you more chance to use your own specialist knowledge.
Topics Which Can Be Included In A Feasibility Study
- The aims of the project including the needs it will meet
- The objectives of the project (how the aims will be achieved)
- The value it will provide to the community
- How much your project will cost to develop and run – including the costs of acquiring, developing and running the asset in the future
- How much income you will generate from your project and where additional sources of funding will come from
- How long it will take before your project is finished
- How the project will be managed
- How the project will be marketed
We will produce a Feasibility Study ourselves
We will buy someone in to produce a Feasibility Study
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