What a feasibility study examines, what it answers, and the moments when you should have one before you commit.
A feasibility study answers one question: should this project go forward. It looks past what a project would do and asks whether it can actually work, financially and practically, under real conditions. Where an impact study measures effect, a feasibility study measures soundness.
A complete feasibility study usually covers four things.
Commission a feasibility study before you commit money you cannot easily get back. The clear triggers are a major capital purchase, opening or expanding a business, building a facility, or seeking a loan or grant that requires one. In each case the study is cheap relative to the decision it informs, and the cost of skipping it shows up only after the money is spent.
The useful deliverable is a clear read on whether the project holds up, what it hinges on, and the one or two things worth resolving before you commit, rather than a bare yes or no. A study that runs the same finance a lender runs, including debt-service coverage against the standard floor, tells you what you will face when the financing conversation starts, while there is still time to act on it.
The two studies answer different questions and often belong side by side. Impact tells your community and your funders what the project returns. Feasibility tells you and your lender whether it will survive to deliver that return. A decision of any size deserves both on the table.
Project Red Team runs this kind of analysis for governments, developers, and businesses across the interior West. Tell us about the project and we will lay out what it takes to answer it, and what it costs.
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