Reference Document

Community Enterprise Centre (CEC)

Business Development Function 2012 & 2013

A.Outline of the new CEC Business Development Function

B.Assessment and Administrative arrangements of the Programme

  1. Outline of the new Community Enterprise Centre (CEC) Business Development Function.

1. Background

EnterpriseIreland proposes to run, under Section 7 of the Industrial Development (EnterpriseIreland) Act 1998, a new Community Enterprise Centre Development Programme for the maintenance or establishment of a strong business development function in the Community Enterprise Centres funded by EnterpriseIreland.

This project is eligible under Section 7 (2) of the Industrial Development (Enterprise Ireland) Act 1998 conferring on EI all such powers as are necessary for, or incidental to, the performance of its functions under the Act - in this case “to develop industry and enterprise in the State”.

This scheme is also subject to state aid regulation under aid under the De Minimis rule at the level of the Development Group for the Community Enterprise Centre. Thereforethe scheme constitutes state aid within the meaning of Article 87 (1) of the EC Treaty insofar as the de minimis ceiling of €200,000 per CEC over a period of three year rolling period as per Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 is not exceeded.

EnterpriseIreland will work in close co-operation with FÁS, the local authorities, the County and City Enterprise Boards and the County and City Development Boards, where relevant, in implementing this initiative.

2. The CEC Business Development Function – A National Context and Survey results October 2011

The availability of business space is a fundamental infrastructural requirement for businesses to establish and grow in any location. CECs provide this space in a supportive environment for budding entrepreneurs and serve to help the development of entrepreneurship locally in urban and rural locations. CECs are also a tangible and visible contribution to regional development.

Since the launch of the first Community Enterprise Centre scheme in 1989, €61.4 million has been approved for the development of Community Enterprise Centres (CECs) across the country. To date there have been 4 schemes and 134 centres have been approved for financial support - of which 110 have been completed.

In October 2011, the results of a survey confirmed that the 95 centres of the 110 completing the survey accommodate 775 companies employing 4,325 while it is estimated that the 15 non respondents accommodate a further 100 companies employing approx 600 people. This means that the 110 centres currently in operation employ about 5,000 people.

A further 271 companies have graduated from those Centres that have managers over the years. 56 of these companies have become EnterpriseIreland clients while a further 79 are engaged with the local County Enterprise Board (CEBs).

The importance of a business development function is supported by data from this recent survey of CECs and indicates a significant performance differential between those centres with a business development manager and those without. As can be seen from the table below there is evidence that performance in terms of employment appears to be significantly enhanced by the presence of a Business Development Manager - On average employing 50% more than those centres without one.

No of CECs / TotalNos Employed in CEC / Average No of jobs per centre
Total CEC Respondents to survey / 95 / 4,325 / 46
Centres with a Business Development Manager / 50 / 2,709 / 54
Centres with no Manager or Facilities Mgr / 45 / 1,616 / 36

3. Benefits and Objective of the CEC Business Development Function

The main benefits and objectives to be derived from the proposed investment of Business Development Function/Managers include:

  • Safeguarding and better leveraging the €61.4m investment already made by the State in these centres. The regional dimension of the centres is critical in that they are located in areas often lacking in office or industrial infrastructure such as incubation centres etc.
  • It will contribute to maintaining the CECs’ client companies and the 5,000 jobs they represent. e.g. the mentoring support provided through the business development function is crucial to supporting existing clients businesses (and jobs) and to support the drive to increase occupancy levels thereby contributing to increased job creation
  • It will drive the local and regional innovation and enterprise culture, provide a platform for driving increased occupancy levels and contribute to more commercial new business start-ups. At their best good business development managers act as a beacon for entrepreneurship in their local economies and a powerful resource for aspiring entrepreneurs and businesses

4. Funding

The fund size will be €2m. There will be a minimum of two calls for applications in the period 2012 to 2013. This is a competitive fund and due to limited funding available under the fund, it may not be possible to award aid to all eligible projects.

Having a number of tranches in the scheme gives Communities the opportunity to put together a strong plan or application and therefore EnterpriseIreland strongly recommend that the fund is serialised into a number of calls for proposal. EnterpriseIreland recommends two calls during this time frame.

Following detailed discussions with the network of Community Enterprise Centre Managers across the country and the National Association of Community Enterprise Centre managers (NACEC), a competitive programme comprising two parts is proposed:

  1. Focused on centres seeking to put in place a full-time business development function - That support of up to 50% or €50,000 whichever is the lesser will be provided towards the recruitment of a Business Development Manager, to be paid over a period not exceeding two years.

It is proposed that 30 such awards would be made over the course of the two calls for applications, based on size of centre, number of tenants, number of people employed, level of private sector involvement, training programmes and business plan development provided in the centres for tenants and local entrepreneurs.

2. Focused on other centres seeking to put in place or sustain:

  • A part-time business development function - That support of up to 50% or €10,000 whichever is the lesser will be provided towards the recruitment of a part-time Business Development Manager, to be paid over a period not exceeding two years.

or

  • A full-time business development function to be shared by a number of CECs – That support of up to 50% or €50,000 whichever is the lesser will be provided towards the recruitment of a Business Development Manager, to be paid over a period not exceeding two years.

The balance of the funding in all cases will be provided by the Community itself.

6. Legal and State Aid Basis

EnterpriseIreland proposes to administer, under Section 7 of the Industrial Development (EnterpriseIreland) Act 1998, a new Community Enterprise Centre Development Programme for the maintenance or establishment of a strong business development function in the Community Enterprise Centres funded by EnterpriseIreland.

This project is eligible under Section 7 (2) of the Industrial Development (Enterprise Ireland) Act 1998 conferring on EI all such powers as are necessary for, or incidental to, the performance of its functions under the Act - in this case “to develop industry and enterprise in the State”.

This scheme is also subject to state aid regulation under aid under the De Minimis rule at the level of the Development Group for the Community Enterprise Centre. Thereforethe scheme constitutes state aid within the meaning of Article 87 (1) of the EC Treaty insofar as the de minimis ceiling of €200,000 per CEC over a period of three year rolling period as per Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 is not exceeded.

7. Eligible Projects.

Projects must satisfy the following eligibility criteria before being considered for supportfor a Business Development Function/Manager:

• Any Community Enterprise Centre that has been supported by Enterprise-Ireland since its first scheme in 1989, whether it is existing or under construction.

• Projects that are proposed by community groups that have a full time, part time, voluntary, existing or have no current manager.

• Projects if approved by the evaluation committee will receive a maximum of 50% of eligible expenditure for the approval of a Business Development Function/Manager. The remaining 50% can be raised in what ever means the Development Group can arrange for example revenue from the Centre, other grants from Public bodies or a loan from a Bank or Credit Institution.

• Demonstrate effective fund raising capabilities to fund the remaining 50% of the Business Development Managers Salary.

  • Demonstrate the ongoing efforts to sustain the operational and financial viability the facility
  • Further to this requirement the CEC will gain a declaration from the Community Enterprise Centres relating to the amount of De Minimis aid each company has been awarded (in accordance with a template provided by EnterpriseIreland. See footnote 1 for template) and report this annually to EnterpriseIreland.

• Projects that are scheduled to start within 12 months of grant approval.

• Projects on which no expenditure is incurred prior to the date of approval for funding under this scheme.

7. Eligible Projects continued:

It is the sole responsibility of the development group in the Community Enterprise Centre to recruit the Business Development Manager/Function. However guideline key responsibilities of the Business Development Function/Manager are as follows:

  1. To assist and develop enterprise centre clients and potential clients in evaluating their ideas and business plans by way of mentoring.
  2. To identify and assist potential entrepreneurs in the community in evaluating the feasibility of their ideas and in the preparation of business plans.
  3. To encourage innovation and an enterprise culture in the local community.
  4. To establish good rapport and relationships with existing and potential clients.
  5. To assist clients in developing a clear picture of their business, analyse performance and plan for the future.
  6. To help clients prepare realistic action plans and make changes.
  7. To encourage client autonomy to act for themselves.
  8. To develop Networks to provide access to information support and resources.
  9. To develop good working relationships with the development agencies particularly the City & County Enterprise Boards.
  10. To represent the Enterprise Centre at different fora and with regional and national Representative Organisations including the National Association of Community Enterprise Centres (NACEC).
  11. To undertake training and develop and improve skills level through participation in appropriate courses as determined by the development group
  12. To evaluate the quality of supports provided by centre management and to monitor performance.
  13. To oversee the maintenance and smooth running of the Centre.
  14. To identify sources of and propose and generate other options of income.
  15. To manage the Human Resources of the Enterprise Centre.
  16. The Manager will be responsible to the Board of Directors for the day to day running of business and will be required to make monthly reports to the Board on financial matters and the general progress of the Enterprise Centre.

8. Ineligible Projects.

The Fund is not open to the following:

  • Centres that do not meet the above criteria
  • Retirees from previous gainful employment from either the public sector, civil service or private sector may not be funded under the CEC Business Development Function.

9. Review

Each Business Development Functiongrant will be issued in two tranches, the second tranche is subject to achievement of a range of metrics to the satisfaction of EnterpriseIreland including the following:

-Occupancy levels of the centre since recruitment–number of companies and jobs maintained and created in the CEC

-Detail the Business Development programmes undertaken with companies such as Innovation Vouchers &Mentor programme etc

-The number of companies graduating from the centre

-Training courses provided in the centre and to whom

-Co-operation with business development stakeholders such as local entrepreneurs, FAS, CEB, Council, Chambers of Commerce, EnterpriseIreland etc.

-Collaboration and networking examples with other CECs in the area

  1. Assessment and Administrative arrangements of the Scheme

1. Project Approval

1.1 Project Assessment

Projects which meet the Eligibility Criteria will be evaluated by reference to the following Evaluation Criteria:

•Expertise, experience and ability of both the centre’s management and board structure

•The current and forecasted occupancy levels in 2 years – Tenants and Employment numbers

•Graduated companies currently and forecast for the next 2 years

•The proportion of potential occupants that are expected to be carrying out high value added activities as determined by the evaluation committee

•Promotional activities and details of raising awareness of the CEC

  • Nature, level and development potential of new start ups/micro enterprises to be facilitated by the Business Development Function/Manager – Training courses etc
  • The facilities and services to be provided by the centre

•The proportion of the space in the facility that will be provided for commercial enterprises.

•The degree of specialisation in the enterprise accommodation in thecentre

•Degree of cooperation with a third level institution in the area.

•Degree of cooperation with local Entrepreneurs

•Degree of cooperation with business Development stakeholders, FAS, CEB, Council, Chambers of commerce, EnterpriseIreland etc

•Degree of cooperation, collaboration and networking with other CECs in the area

•Total Cost: Amount of funding required for the Business Development Manager and hours to be worked

  • Need for Money: The extent to which this project would not be able to go ahead without state support
  • Financial History: Financial track record of the CEC & CEC Revenue details
  • PreviousState Funding: The previous track record in implementing State funded projects (if any);

1.2 Project Evaluation Process

The scheme will be a competitive one and will be implemented through public calls for proposals, which will be advertised nationally. A standard application form will be provided.

These applications must specify the eligibility of the applicant under all the above Eligibility Criteria and to what degree the applicant centre meets each of the Evaluation Criteria of the scheme including targets that the proposed centre will aim to achieve.

Following a call for proposals, all applications will be assessed and the level of support determined and rated against the criteria.

Eligible projects will be evaluated and approved by the Enterprise Ireland Board or a decision making committee appointed by the Enterprise Ireland Board. Applications will be ranked against the Evaluation Criteria.These will be prioritised and made available to all applicants as part of the application process. Where the number of suitable applications exceeds the available funding, those ranked highest will be supported.

An Evaluation Group will be set up comprised of nominees from EnterpriseIreland, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, National Association of Community Enterprise Centres, County Enterprise Boards and the third level. EnterpriseIreland will chair the group.

2. Eligible expenditure and conditions for assistance under the Scheme

Projects must satisfy the following eligibility before being considered for support of a Business Development Function/Manager:

• Any Community Enterprise Centre that has been supported by Enterprise-Ireland since its first scheme in 1989, whether it is existing or under construction.

• Projects which are proposed by community groups that have a full time, part time, voluntary, existing or have no current manager.

• Projects if approved by the evaluation committee will receive up to a maximum of 50% of eligible expenditure for the approval of a Business Development Function/Manager. The remaining 50% can be raised by what ever means the Development Group can arrange for example revenue from the Centre, other grants from Public bodies or a loan from a Bank or Credit Institution.

• Demonstrate effective fund raising capabilities to fund the remaining 50% of the Business Development Managers Salary.

  • Demonstrate the ongoing operational viability of the facility
  • Further to this requirement the CEC will gain a declaration from the Community Enterprise Centre relating to the amount of De Minimis aid each centre has been awarded (in accordance with a template provided by EnterpriseIreland. See footnote 1 for template) and report this annually to EnterpriseIreland.

2. Eligible expenditure and conditions for assistance under the Scheme continued

Each Business Development Functiongrant will be issued in two tranches, the second tranche subject to achievement of a range of metrics including the following:

-Occupancy levels of the centre since recruitment - companies and jobs maintained and created

-Detail the Business Development programmes undertaken with companies such as Innovation Vouchers & Mentor programme etc

-The number of companies graduating from the centre

-Training courses provided in the centre and to whom

-Co-operation with business development stakeholders such as local entrepreneurs, FAS, CEB, Council, Chambers of Commerce etc.

-Collaboration and networking examples with other CECs in the area

3. Applications

Applications for funding will be invited through two public calls for submission of projectsand will be subject to an assessment and selection process. These calls will be announced in the National Press.

Application forms and guidelines will be available fromEnterpriseIreland.

4. Post Approval Stage:

After project proposals have been considered by EnterpriseIreland’s Board, EnterpriseIreland will inform the applicant company of the outcome of the Board’s decisions. In the case of successful applicants, a formal letter of offer will be issued. This Letter of Offer, when accepted, forms a legal agreement between the development agency EnterpriseIrelandand the Company. Companies, when they accept the Letter of Offer, must return the acceptance within one month from the date of the Letter of Offer.

5.Implementation of Approved Investments

Failure to commence the project within a twelve-month period to date from the date of the Letter of Offer may result in the offer of grant being withdrawn and the amount approved being de-committed and reallocated to another project. It should be noted that because the scheme is competitively based, there is an onus on EnterpriseIreland to ensure that where, in its opinion, a considerable risk exists that a project may not proceed, funding may be allocated to another eligible proposal.

6. Payment of Aid - Claim Process

The following information must be included when submitting a claim:

  • Relevant Claim form
  • Declaration Form
  • Auditor certificate and back up list of costs
  • Progress Report
  • Current Tax Clearance Cert

Ex-post inspections will be carried out on a regular basis by EnterpriseIreland. Final payment claim applications must be submitted to EnterpriseIrelandnot later than 12 months following the appointment of the CEC Business Development Function.