Our Services

Public Bodies & State Agencies

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MCA Consulting

Local Development Organisations

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Community & Voluntary Sector Groups

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Private
Enterprise

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Our
Customers

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Public Bodies & State Agencies

Strategy formulation and development
Our team have a wealth of experience in preparation of Strategic plans and policies for a range of public bodies. These span across a broad range of sectors from programme based such as INTERREG, Health Ireland Plans, Migrant integration Strategies and Rural Transport Strategies.
Public consultation processes.
We use a wide variety of methods to provide clients with a tailored consultation process for their initiative or project. Techniques used include, public meetings, focus groups, one to one interviews and also by use of surveys. We have adapted quickly to change during the COVID pandemic and used ZOOM and Microsoft Teams to conduct remote focus group and consultation events to great effect. We have particular expertise in consultation process design across rural Ireland.
Stakeholder engagement
Mapping of stakeholder within a project or plan is critical at project inception. We provide a mapping service to ensure timely and appropriate levels of engagement are pursued for your project. Different techniques and means of engagement will be required to engage with stakeholder depending on the target group from which they comes from and we in particular can engineer effective techniques in engaging with hard to reach target groups.

Evaluations

Our services include a comprehensive project and programme evaluation service. We have undertaken evaluations and cost benefit analysis exercises for an array of programmes and capital project developments. Data collection is second nature to us through our footfall counter business and we can marry these services as appropriate to capital project evaluations.
Programme design and review.
New programmes are designed to meet changing demands of modern day Ireland. We provide assistance to public bodies in ideas generation and formulation of policy around new programmes and also modification and tailoring of existing initiatives to meet changing needs. Reviews can also be undertaken to assess the effectiveness of initiatives which in turn can influence future rounds and prioritising of funding where a competitive process exists.

Contract assessment of government funding programmes.

Our staff are highly skilled in project appraisal and we provide project evaluation services to a number of public bodies both on an annual basis and also during peak times. The majority of project appraisal contracts are carried out remotely using sharepoint of other web based system which out staff are highly competent in. The standard of our appraisals and the consistency in our approach to applying criteria is uniform and to a high standard.
Independent Appeals Process management services.
Speciliased services such as presiding as an independent adjudicator over appeals are included in the range of services we can provide to public sector clients. This can occur when internal processes have been exhausted or when a conflict of interest can arise and an independent and objective view point or opinion is required to review a project award or decision.
Tender panel external expert services.
We provide independent member of public tender panel services to public sector clients periodically. This would typically involve sitting on a tendering panel as they are opened and scoring using criteria supplied.

Local Development

Rural and Urban Regeneration plans / strategies and applications

Post Covid and Post Brexit the process of regeneration of our towns, villages and rural areas is beginning in earnest. We have secured in excess of €48million in public funding from the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund and the Rural Regeneration and Development fund for clients. We have a unique skillset in strategizing and planning for these large infrastructure based applications which lead as catalysts for further development. The following are sample of projects we preparation the application and business case for;

Funding proposal and application development services for Town and Village renewal, CLAR, Dormant accounts and other public programmes.

We have provided a full suite of services to Local Authorities in the preparation and drafting of Town and Village renewal applications since 2018. We have an unparalleled track record in procurement of funding under these programmes and we have played a role in project appraisal process nationally.

Facilitation and evaluation services.

Our team provides contract project assessment and appraisal services to government departments and state agencies. Our skilled staff work annually on national funding programmes as appraisers and have the capacity and skills to get up to speed very quickly. We provide a cost effective solution to funding agencies during peak times.

Feasibility studies and business case preparation for capital investments.

Procurement of funding from both public and private investors is a core part of our business. We provide practical project feasibility study services across the local development sector with a specialism in capital infrastructure projects studies. We also have the added benefit of having our footfall counters service in house to provide quantitative data. We can deploy footfall counting equipment to assist in cost benefit analysis of outdoor recreation projects, visitor attractions and public buildings.

Policy papers formulation and drafting.

Articulating a business case or perspective in terms of influencing policy requires thorough planning and skill in putting those views on paper. We provide clients in the local development and public sector with a confidential and high quality policy formulation and drafting service. We have ability to team up quickly with key decision makers in organisations to facilitate discussion debate and challenge opinions, and to present the best possible outcome for clients in a prompt and professional manner.

Community and Voluntary Sector

PPN training, facilitation and reviews.

We have extensive experience of carrying out organisational reviews, providing facilitation and training nationwide on behalf of the PPN’s, Local Authorities and also the Department of Rural and Community Development.

Governance training.

Increasing standards are both demanded and expected from the community and voluntary sector. We have worked with numerous local, regional and national charities and also CLG companies to assist in meeting these increased demands on voluntary boards through tailored and bespoke training.

Capacity building, mentoring and training.
Community organisations can enhance their resilience and also up-skill their board members and staff through capacity building activities. These usually take the form of skilled mentoring or business advice and also through tailored training. We provide these services nationwide to organisations directly and also through local development companies on a group basis. We in particular specialise in social enterprise development and the Community services programme.
Feasibility studies

Community organisations regularly carry out studies to assess the viability of their capital project or initiative. Grant aid is available at a rate of up to 90% for some studies and we can provide advice and direction in preparation of terms of references and also in conducting studies to a standard that is required by funding agencies and financial institutions. We tailor the study to the fund in question that is being considered.

Public consultations and business case preparation for community physical infrastructure projects.
It is essential that the broader community is brought along with a local committee on projects of significance in an area. A well thought out public consultation and engagement strategy is required and in the changing world in which we live an array of new digital techniques and means is at our disposal to carry out such tasks. We provide full public consultation services for community project big and small, from Local Economic and Community Plans to local village enhancement plans and Health Checks.
Community centre developments and extensions funding proposals.
MCA Consulting has developed in excess of 100 applications over the past 10 years for new community centres and buildings and also for extensions. The following is a selection of those proposals that secured funding with our guidance and assistance
Community service programme applications and business plans.
We have prepared in excess of 30 successful applications under the Community Services Programme and have been working with that programme since 2003 when its predecessor the Social Economy programme came into being. We can provide advice and direction and business case writing service to groups wishing to apply for the first time or those wishing to extend their CSP project.

Private Business

Business plans
New and existing businesses use our services to develop practical and refined business plans to meet their needs. Business plans are used to provide a roadmap and strategic direction to the business owners and also are used to procure finance from financial institutions or grant aid from funding bodies. We can provide a comprehensive business planning service for any scale of business.
Feasibility studies
Entrepreneurs and company directors will always assess the feasibility of a new venture or an invest prioir to it taking place. In many cases this will take place internally in a somewhat informal manner. Largest capital investments require a more robust process or study. We provide feasibility study preparation and co-ordination services which can provide a degree assurance as to viability of a proposal prior to investment. This in turn can be used to provide rationale for an investor to invest or indeed reduce to level of risk required for a financial institution to come on board.
Procurement of funding
We specialise in the procurement of funding from financial institutions, investors and funding bodies. We have un paralleled expertise in this area and our track record speaks for itself in terms of devising the most appropriate strategy to get your project funded and operational.
LEADER applications
One of our company directors is a former LEADER Manager and former national Chairman of the Irish LEADER network, as well as former Ireland representative on the EU Rural Development LEADER Monitoring committee. We have an extensive portfolio of successful LEADER project spanning since 2006 and have a good working relationship with programme managers nationwide would we can harness to ensure the best possible outcome for your application.
Local Enterprise Office applications
Our director is a voluntary member of Monaghan Local Enterprise Office appraisals committee, and has a unique insight into the project appraisals process through LEO’s.
Enterprise Ireland applications.
Our company has considerable success in assisting in the preparation of Enterprise Ireland applications for business expansion.
Proposal preparation for mergers and acquisitions.
We provide proposal drafting services for customers who are making a bid for a business acquisition. We also have provided assistance in strategy for mergers of companies and business units.
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