Feasibility studies

Do you have a great idea? Unless it’s for a small and relatively low-risk project it’s always sensible to undertake a feasibility study to make sure that your idea has a good chance of success before you invest a lot of time, energy and money into it. For a more significant project, it is wise to have this prepared by someone from outside of your organisation who can offer a different perspective and thoroughly test out your ideas. We are experts in preparing quality feasibility studies. Where necessary we have links to other specialists like architects, accountants, web designers and solicitors who can help.

Facility development

Whether you need to develop a community centre, sports facility or venue for the delivery of other services, we can provide the support and guidance you need. This includes helping to identify and resolve the challenges of finding a site, obtaining planning permission and ensuring your plans can be financially sustainable.

We are often involved in projects from bidding to opening. This area of our work has included developing all sorts of facilities. Larger projects included new swimming pools, sports halls and artificial turf pitches. We have also worked on men's sheds projects, community cafes, workshops, community cinema schemes, security fencing, toilet blocks, portacabins and other more modest schemes. Projects have been located at public leisure centres, commercial premises, sports clubs and schools and community venues.

Project planning and delivery

We have lots of experience of what works and what doesn’t. This means we can help you make sure your project is well designed and smoothly delivered. Whatever your objective, putting an effective plan in place is a vital first step to ensuring success.

Business planning

We are experts at in helping organisations develop and set out a clear financial model. This is essential for any organisations long term success and also helps ensure potential funders have the confidence required to invest by showing that your project is sustainable.

Consultation

Any effective project must be grounded in an understanding of the other services in the area, any competitors, local and national policy and most importantly the needs and desires of its target community. All of this information is vital to ensuring your scheme is well designed and also essential in building strong funding applications. At Heaward Solutions, we have many years of experience in this kind of research and can prepare anything from the simplest community survey through to complex evidence of need reports.

We have worked with many organisations to conduct face to face, online and social media-based surveys and run other community consultation events. Once these are complete we have then prepared a detailed analysis report for presentation to potential funders. This has often been vital to helping make the case for investment. Recent consultation projects for clients include work for:

Organisational structure

Deciding if you should operate as an unincorproated group, charity, CIO, CIC or indeed one of the numerous other options available is extremely complex and getting this wrong has a range of consequences. Whilst we can't replace advice from your solicitor or accountant, we have a unique understanding of how this important choice impacts the risks of running a not for profit group and also your ability to access grants and other funding.

Community asset transfer

Community asset transfer (CAT) was introduced to provide a way for groups to apply to move the responsibility for managing public assets from Local Authorities to communities. It can offer a great way for groups to take control but it is not without its challenges or risks. Our team can help groups navigate this beneficial, but often complex process.

We aim to provide the help you need. This includes sharing our insight so you avoid costly mistakes. Our experience includes the transfer of public buildings including sports facilities and other services such as playing fields.

Once transfer is complete we can also help you secure rate relief, grants and other funding to help run and improve your new facility.

Our experience includes supporting complex Community Asset Transfer proposals for large scale public facilities. Key examples include the development and management of Stoke-on-Trent City Councils scheme for the self-management of sports pitches and the successful transfer of the Hardman Football Development Centre to Milton United FC and work on the transfer of the Burslem Gymnastics Centre.

Youth sport and inclusion

Not every young person wants to go to a traditional sports club. More often than not those who don’t are the young people that their parents and the wider community have the greatest concerns about. Providing other services and opportunities that this group of young people want can be tough. But with the right advice and funding this is still possible. This kind of project are also often very popular with local residents and the wider community and can help reconnect young people with their community.
We have created several major projects working with challenging young people. These include the UK’s largest StreetGames programme, as well as innovative, award winning projects such as the Stoke-on-Trent Closing the Gap Programme. This ensures that we are well placed to advise on this complex topic, one which is often right at the heart of community needs.
In the past we have helped groups such as community centres use sport as a tool to support and engage at-risk and socially-excluded young people and tackle issues of antisocial behaviour.