A feasibility study will investigate whether your ideas for a project are possible and how much they will cost. This will be presented in a professional report and will usually contain a project history, details of funding sources, legal and planning implications, together with costings and drawings where buildings are involved. The feasibility study is aimed to help secure capital and revenue funding for the project.

A feasibility study is normally carried out both by a project committee representing  the organisation and the consultant who will liaise with other suitably qualified persons e.g. an architect, other professionals and the local authority. Where the project contains proposals for a building the study will normally examine the technical side and help you draw up a design brief, test out suitable building designs and estimate the likely cost of the project. It is a good idea to decide at the very start what will be included in the final document and to draw up a brief for the study.

Each feasibility study will be different because it will need to reflect the exact needs of the group for whom it is prepared. The more developed your ideas are, the more detailed your study can be.

Common questions that feasibility studies often address are:

• The need for the project, the vision, mission and values that underpin the idea?
• Is a building or piece of land generally suitable for the intended use? Can a suitable design be produced?
• What is the general condition of the land or buildings and how will this affect your ideas?
• Can the building be designed to meet building regulations, planning regulations, health and safety laws, fire safety requirements, the Children Act, Disability Access etc., as appropriate?
• Who will need to be involved in the building development process?
• Can all points of the building be made accessible to and usable by all people, such as the physically disabled?
• Is it possible to produce a ‘green’ energy efficient design?
• How much will all this cost?
- How much will the feasibility study cost?
- How are the likely running costs?
• Outputs - What will be created  e.g. jobs; training places; childcare places; community facilities/ amenities?

Funding bodies will use a feasibility study to see what exactly they are being asked to fund. so it is important that you make sure that your consultant includes all you need in the final document.
 

Where necessary David Russell Associates can work with you to develop a suitable brief for the feasibility study.  This can be based on their extensive experience of a wide range of church, community and building related projects.