When developing your own farm, rural business, or working in a group to develop a cooperative, it is essential to examine the technical, market, and financial feasibility before writing a business plan. Typically, a non-interested third party does a feasibility plan. For mutually owned businesses, it is critical to have a shared understanding of feasibility before moving forward. For existing businesses or cooperatives initiating a new project or direction to their business, feasibility studies can be crucial to planning or fundraising.
The Feasibility Study Process
The why and how of feasibility studies for groups trying to form new co-ops.
Feasibility Studies
Detailed instructions on how to do market, financial, and organizational feasibility.
The Vital Steps to a Cooperative Feasibility Study
A comprehensive handbook on developing a feasibility study for a new cooperative, authored by the USDA.
What is a Feasibility Study
University of Wisconsin Cooperative Center’s handout on what a feasibility study is and why new cooperatives should do them.
Conducting a Feasibility Study
Tim O’Connell’s wisdom on researching technical, market, and financial feasibility for Hawai‘i co-ops.
Business Operations Management Assessment
For existing cooperatives who desire a friendly third-party analysis of their business. Accomplished by document review and interviews, this process gives clear recommendations to the board which can inform strategic planning and business improvement. Developed by Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development and Northwest Cooperative Development Center, BOMAs have benefited several Hawai‘i cooperatives since 2010.