Operational Excellence Offer

About this scheme

The Operational Excellence Offer supports SMEs and Large Companies investing in a large-scale transformation project (minimum €100,000 expenditure) to develop agile operational and innovation management systems and increase international competitiveness, built around Lean/Operational Excellence training, innovation, digitalisation and sustainability. It combines three underlying Enterprise Ireland funding streams: Capital Grant Support for new/second-hand equipment, computers and production software (10%-35% grant rate, Regional Aid Map based, minimum €20,000 grant aid); Digital Process Innovation for new/improved production, delivery or organisational methods (up to 50%, max €300,000 expenditure); and a Training Grant for capability building in Lean principles, leadership, innovation and digitalisation (up to 70%/60%/50% depending on company size, max €3 million per training project, min €5,000 application). The overall transformation project must involve significant change, not routine upgrades. It is aimed at established, Irish-based manufacturing and eligible internationally traded services companies, with each of the three funding streams carrying its own specific eligibility conditions.

Who can apply

• Aimed at SMEs and Large Companies redesigning their business model to increase competitiveness, enhance market positioning and achieve growth
• Overall project minimum expenditure level of €100,000
• Capital Grant Support component (Company Development): open to existing/potential Enterprise Ireland clients meeting the Industrial Development Act 1986; generating reasonable revenue for at least 5 years before application (including trading history before acquisition, if applicable); employing 10+ full-time people in the State; must be an SME (Large Enterprises only eligible if operating a new business activity under a new 4-digit NACE code, or setting up a new establishment in an alternative assisted-area location, at reduced rates of 15% Area A / 10% Area B); must be EBITDA positive in the previous accounting period, or for at least the previous 9 months with demonstrable sustainable future EBITDA; majority of projected turnover increase must relate to international trade; grant rate 10%-35% of eligible costs based on the Regional Aid Map and company size (Small/Medium; Large companies generally excluded except as above); minimum €20,000 grant aid; eligible costs include new/second-hand equipment (second-hand: under 7 years old, over €10,000 value, SMEs only) and installation, computers and perpetual software licences for production (e.g. ERP/MES), cleanrooms and refrigeration essential to output increase, and essential buildings/services/project-management costs; ineligible: non-production buildings/office equipment/mobile assets/transport, routine software (payroll, accountancy), training and salaries, and any expenditure incurred before application
• Digital Process Innovation component: as per the separate Digital Process Innovation scheme, up to 50% of eligible costs to a maximum of €300,000 expenditure
• Training Grant component (Company Development Training Grant): open to existing Enterprise Ireland or Údarás na Gaeltachta clients (Small/Medium/Large); HPSU clients in receipt of EI investment funding eligible provided €75,000 cumulative training funding in the 3 years post-investment is not exceeded; company must have capability/commitment to complete the assignment and not already have a training project underway; companies with fewer than 5 full-time Ireland employees, and Local Enterprise Office clients, are ineligible; grant rate up to 70% (Small), 60% (Medium), 50% (Large) of eligible costs; maximum €3 million per training project, minimum €5,000 application; training normally capped at 20 days per trainee (exceptionally up to 5 people for 40 days total); external trainer/advisory costs capped at €900/day; internal staff time capped at a €150,000 salary; excludes mandatory-standard-compliance training, business-as-usual training, and on-the-job training during production
• Projects funded under the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (Carbon Reduction Fund, Climate Enterprise Action Fund, Digital Transition Fund) must comply with 'Do No Significant Harm' Technical Guidance (2021/C58/01), excluding fossil-fuel, ETS, and certain waste-related activities
• Capital grant support cannot be combined with Employment Investment support for the same project; combined employment and capital grants cannot exceed Regional Aid rates for the same project

How to apply

1. 1Capital Grant Support component: 1. Company submits a Business Plan, Project Plan and Project Costs (Excel) template, plus latest audited/management accounts, an Organisation Chart/Group Structure, a Financial Data Sheet (required for grants over €150,000), and an estimated CO2 emissions impact, to GA@enterprise-ireland.com. 2. Application is routed to the Management Approvals Committee or Investment Committee depending on funding scale, and assessed via a Commercial and Technical Assessment (value for money, additionality, employment impact, strategic fit, commercial viability). 3. If approved, a Letter of Offer issues; the company must accept within 60 days, and submit claims by the Final Claim Date in the Letter of Offer
2. 2Training Grant component: 1. Company discusses the training project with its assigned Development Advisor, who requests support via a dedicated MS Form feeding a central SharePoint list; the relevant EI department (Operational Excellence or Leadership and Scaling) assists with design/scoping/assessment. 2. Application is formally submitted by email to GA@enterprise-ireland.com; project start date is the date a valid application is received, and prior costs are ineligible. 3. The Development Advisor and a Training Assessor evaluate the proposal (commercial value, financial stability, market analysis, training plan, resourcing). 4. Routed to Management Approvals Committee (€5k-€150k), Investment Committee (over €150k), or the Board (over €3m); if approved, a Letter of Offer issues
3. 3Claims (both components): company maintains training records/invoices as applicable, completes the relevant claim form template with a progress report, and submits eligible-expenditure claims to industrygrantclaims@enterprise-ireland.com; claims for grants over €400,000 require Independent Accountant certification; a Payment Officer reviews and authorises payment; for the Training Grant, the Final Claim Date is 30 months from approval