MDS-509

Studying Feasibility of Development Interventions

Lecture: 1
What is ‘feasibility’?
 The English word feasible comes from faire, the French verb meaning “to do.” Hence, feasibility refers to “capable of being
done” of an idea.
 Feasibility may define as “the possibility that can be made, done, or achieved, or is reasonable”. [Cambridge English
Dictionary]
 Therefore, ‘feasibility’ means the degree or state of being easily, conveniently, or reasonably done. If something is ‘feasible,’
it means that we can do it, make it, or achieve it. In other words, it is ‘doable’ and also ‘viable’.
Understanding feasibility study
Mary Holz-Clause & Don Hofstrand [in Iowa State University webpage] write:
 “A feasibility study is an analysis of the viability of an idea.”
 “The feasibility study focuses on helping answer the essential question of ‘should we proceed with the proposed project
idea?’ All activities of the study are directed toward helping answer this question.”
 According to Business Dictionary, feasibility study refers to “an analysis and evaluation of a proposed project to determine
if it (1) is technically feasible, (2) is feasible within the estimated cost, and (3) will be profitable. Feasibility studies are
almost always conducted where large sums are at stake.
 Feasibility study/ analysis is client –oriented advice relevant to development plan and informed by technical, economic,
ecological and socio-political justifications.
[For example, Feasibility study of the construction of Padma Bridge]
Why do we care feasibility analysis?
 Theoretical reason [one studies feasibility analysis so that one can know more about the development process, both in
pursuit of knowledge for its own sake and to inform practitioners]
 Practical reason [To become aware of any potential problems that could occur while implementing the development project;
Make an initial "go" or "no-go" decision about moving ahead with the development plan. Hence, aids decision-making on
the development interventions]
Lecture: 2
What is feasibility study?
Feasibility study/ analysis is client –oriented advice relevant to development plan and informed by technical, economic,
ecological and socio-political justifications.
[For example, Feasibility study of the construction of Padma Bridge]
Aspects of feasibility analysis Technical/engineering feasibility
Analysis of the technical and engineering aspects of
development plan to be done continually when a project is
formulated. Technical analysis seeks to determine whether the
prerequisite for the successful commissioning of the project
have been considered and reasonably good choices have been
made with respect to location, size, process, raw materials and
other inputs.
Financial feasibility
Financial feasibility analysis seeks to ascertain whether the
proposed development plan will be financially viable in the
sense of being able to meet the burden/ risk of servicing debt
and whether the proposed project will satisfy the return
expectations of those who provide the capital.

Economic feasibility
Economic feasibility analysis, also referred to as social cost-benefit analysis, is concerned with judging a project from the
larger social point of view. In such an evaluation the focus is on the social costs and benefits of a development project which
may oftenfeasibility
Ecological be different from its monetary costs and benefits.
Ecological feasibility
Ecological feasibility analysis should be done particularly for major development projects which have significant ecological
implications (like power plants and irrigation schemes) and environment-polluting industries (like bulk drugs, chemicals, and
leather processing).
Schedule/time-line feasibility
The schedule/time feasibility analysis focus on the successful completion of the development project on time. It assesses the
degree to which the potential time frame and completion dates for all major activities within a development project meet
organizational deadlines and constraints for affecting change.
Socio-political feasibility
Socio-political feasibility analysis refers to the social sustainability of the development plan and the political commitment/will
to the development interventions. It also assess the impact of development actions in the cultural traits of the community.
Lecture: 3
Organizing feasibility analysis?

Organizing feasibility analysis

Executive summary (key points of the analysis)
Outline of the project feasibility analysis
1. Introduction (situation analysis and objectives)
1. Executive summary 2. Detail study report 2. Optimal solution analysis
Outline of the project feasibility analysis 3. Implementation plan
1. Client name 4. Engineering analysis
2. Project name 5. Financial and economic analysis
3. Executing agency 6. Ecological feasibility analysis
4. Study objectives 7. Socio-political sustainability analysis
5. Study contents (result of the study) 8. Timeline analysis
6. Conclusion and recommendations 9. Conclusion and recommendations

Organization of FINAL REPORT

1. Preface 2. Letter of Transmittal 3. Location Map 4. Image of Development interventions 5. Outline of the Project
6. Executive Summary 7. Table of Content 8. Abbreviations 9. Section-1, 2, in details! 10. Appendix 11. References
Basic skills for feasibility analysis
(1) Analysts must know how to gather , organize, and communicate information in situation in which deadlines are strict and
access to relevant people is limited;
(2) Analysts need a preparation for putting perspective social problems in context.
(3) Analysts need technical skills to enable them to predict better and to assess more confidently the consequences of
alternative decisions. The disciplines of economics and statistics serve a primary sources for these skills;
(4) Analysts must have the an understanding of political and organizational behavior in order to predict, and perhaps
influence, the feasibility of adoption and the successful implementation of state-lead development interventions.
Gathering information for feasibility analysis
 Facts are relevant in estimation the extent and nature of development interventions.
 Data can often helps us discover facts !
Two points warrant note:
 First, What one considers to be a fact will often depend upon the theory one brings to bear;
 Second, Virtually all the facts we bring to bear will be, to some extent, uncertain.
Therefore, we are almost never in a position to prove any assertion with logic alone. Rather, we must balance sometime
inconsistent evidence to reach conclusions about appropriate assertions.
Document research (reviewing relevant literature, dealing with both theory and
Gathering evidence evidence, and location existing sources of raw/primary data)
for
Feasibility analysis Field research (conduction interview/survey research and gathering original data)

Professional ethics:
Alternative repose to value conflict- voice, exit, and disloyalty

DISLOYALITY

VOICE EXIT

Ethical code or Ethos?

General guideline that deserve consideration:
(1) Feasibility analysis not work for clients who they believe have goals that contradict the basic values of democracy and human
rights, and should regime rather than contribute to the realization of goals with which they fundamentally disagree;
(2) Clients deserve complete honesty, including explicated assumptions and uncensored alternatives, and that analyst should not
use their access to their information and influence with clients to further their own private interest;
(3) Rather than wait for code of ethics, perhaps we should, as Mark Lilla argues, work toward an ethos for the new profession
of policy/feasibility analysis;
(4) None the less, we should show considerable tolerance for the ways our clients choose to resolve difficult value conflicts,
and we should maintain a realistic modesty about the predictive power of our analysis.