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
January 2012
A.
Outline of the new Community Enterprise Centre (CEC) Business
Development Function.
1. Background
Enterprise Ireland proposes to run, under Section 7 of the Industrial Development
(Enterprise Ireland) 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 Enterprise Ireland.
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. Therefore
the 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.
Enterprise Ireland 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 Enterprise Ireland 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
Total Nos
Average No
CECs
Employed in of jobs per
CEC
centre
Total CEC Respondents to survey
95
4,325
46
Centres with a Business Development
50
2,709
54
Manager
Centres with no Manager or Facilities Mgr
45
1,616
36
January 2012
2
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 Enterprise Ireland strongly
recommend that the fund is serialised into a number of calls for proposal. Enterprise
Ireland 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.
January 2012
3
6.
Legal and State Aid Basis
Enterprise Ireland proposes to administer, under Section 7 of the Industrial
Development (Enterprise Ireland) 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 Enterprise
Ireland.
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. Therefore
the 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
support for 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 Enterprise Ireland. See
footnote 1 for template) and report this annually to Enterprise Ireland.
• 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.
January 2012
4
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.
To identify and assist potential entrepreneurs in the community in evaluating the
feasibility of their ideas and in the preparation of business plans.
To encourage innovation and an enterprise culture in the local community.
To establish good rapport and relationships with existing and potential clients.
To assist clients in developing a clear picture of their business, analyse performance
and plan for the future.
To help clients prepare realistic action plans and make changes.
To encourage client autonomy to act for themselves.
To develop Networks to provide access to information support and resources.
To develop good working relationships with the development agencies particularly the
City & County Enterprise Boards.
To represent the Enterprise Centre at different fora and with regional and national
Representative Organisations including the National Association of Community
Enterprise Centres (NACEC).
To undertake training and develop and improve skills level through participation in
appropriate courses as determined by the development group
To evaluate the quality of supports provided by centre management and to monitor
performance.
To oversee the maintenance and smooth running of the Centre.
To identify sources of and propose and generate other options of income.
To manage the Human Resources of the Enterprise Centre.
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.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
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 Function grant will be issued in two tranches, the
second tranche is subject to achievement of a range of metrics to the
satisfaction of Enterprise Ireland 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, Enterprise Ireland etc.
-
Collaboration and networking examples with other CECs in the area
January 2012
5
B.
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 the centre
• 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, Enterprise Ireland 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
Previous State Funding: The previous track record in implementing State
funded projects (if any);

January 2012
6
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 Enterprise Ireland,
Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, National Association of Community
Enterprise Centres, County Enterprise Boards and the third level. Enterprise Ireland
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 Enterprise Ireland. See
footnote 1 for template) and report this annually to Enterprise Ireland.
January 2012
7
2. Eligible expenditure and conditions for assistance under the Scheme
continued
Each Business Development Function grant 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
projects and 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 from Enterprise Ireland.
4. Post Approval Stage:
After project proposals have been considered by Enterprise Ireland’s Board, Enterprise
Ireland 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
Enterprise Ireland and 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 Enterprise
Ireland 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 Enterprise Ireland. Final
payment claim applications must be submitted to Enterprise Ireland not later than 12
months following the appointment of the CEC Business Development Function.
Payment of aid will at all times be subject to the condition that, in the opinion of
Enterprise Ireland, the investment has been properly carried out and that all
conditions contained in the grant agreement have been complied with and the
achievement of metrics as mentioned in point 2 above.
January 2012
8
7. Right of Entry
Inspections by officers authorised by Enterprise Ireland may be carried out at all
reasonable times of any funded assets and records of the applicants.
8. False Statements
If, for the purposes of obtaining aid under this Scheme, a person knowingly makes a
false or misleading statement or withholds essential information, all or such portion of
the aid given or to be given shall be reimbursed or withheld.
9. Withdrawal of Aid
Approval for grant aid may be withdrawn if the applicant fails to abide by the terms of
the grant agreement or in the event of any material change in the circumstances of
the applicant or of the business or in any other respect that would be in conflict with
the terms or the spirit of the Scheme. In such an event all or such portion of aid given
or to be given shall be reimbursed or withheld.
11. Information and Publicity
This CEC Business Development Function is an EI grant programme. All eligible
Commmunity Enterprise Centres will be contacted directly via an email and official
letter.
12. Further Information
Enquiries with regard to the above should be addressed to:Gillian Slattery
Community Enterprise Centre Scheme
Entrepreneurship & Regions Business Unit
Enterprise Ireland
4500 Atlantic Avenue
Westpark
Shannon
Co. Clare
Phone No: 061 429927
E-mail: [email protected]
Or contact your local Regional Enterprise Ireland office.
Footnotes
1
To be completed by each Community Enterprise Centre
1 I wish to apply for [insert name of grant/aid sought] under the De Minimis Regulation (EC) No
1998 /2006. I confirm that:
the company has been granted only the following de minimis aid within the past three years (details to be
supplied)
Signed for Company:
Date:
or
no de minimis aid has been granted to the company within the past three years
Signed for Company:
January 2012
Date:
9