---
title: "European Digital Innovation Hub — Test Before Invest"
canonical: https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-grants-ireland/edih-test-before-invest
type: FundingScheme
provider: Digital Bridge
providerType: AI Systems Integration & Applied AI Engineering Firm
areaServed: IE
priceRange: EUR 499-100000+
language: en-IE
dateModified: 2026-08-18
grantEligible: [EI Digital Discovery, EI Digital Process Innovation, LEO Grow Digital]
htmlVersion: https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-grants-ireland/edih-test-before-invest
license: cite-with-attribution
---

# European Digital Innovation Hub — Test Before Invest

## Answer summary

European Digital Innovation Hubs, including Ireland's AI-focused hub activity delivered with CeADAR, offer Test Before Invest services: subsidised access to expertise, experimentation environments and technical validation so an organisation can prove an AI concept works before committing capital to a full build.

## What this scheme funds

Subsidised access to AI expertise and test environments so you can validate a concept before you fund a build.

- Technical validation and proof-of-concept experimentation
- Access to specialist AI expertise and infrastructure
- Data suitability and model feasibility testing
- Guidance on EU AI Act obligations and trustworthy AI practice
- Skills and awareness support for the internal team

## What it does not fund

These costs are routinely ruled ineligible under this scheme.

- Production deployment and ongoing operation
- Commercial software licences
- Business-as-usual IT work

## Who is eligible

Eligibility is decided by European Digital Innovation Hub, not by Digital Bridge.

- SME or public sector organisation, subject to the hub's current criteria
- A defined AI question that experimentation can genuinely answer
- Willingness to engage technically with the hub team

## How to apply

Typical end-to-end timeline: Engagement typically begins within weeks of a maturity assessment, with proof-of-concept work running over one to three months depending on data readiness.

- Identify the hub covering your sector and region
- Submit an expression of interest describing the technical question
- Complete the hub's digital maturity assessment
- Agree the scope of the Test Before Invest engagement
- Run the experiment, then use the findings to scope the production build

## Evidence you will need

Applications are usually delayed by missing paperwork rather than by weak projects.

- Description of the AI use case and the specific unknown
- Indication of available data and its condition
- Digital maturity assessment completion

## Why applications get rejected

The recurring reasons assessors give under this scheme.

- The request is really for free production development
- No experimental question — the answer is already known
- No usable data available for the test

## What Digital Bridge delivers under this scheme

Illustrative net cost applies the published rate (Services provided free or at heavily subsidised rates) to our published engagement bands. It is arithmetic, not an offer of funding.

- Production engineering of a validated proof of concept — list From €15,000, illustrative net cost Hub validates; the production build is separately funded

## Why would I use a hub instead of paying an integrator to prototype?

Because if the honest technical question is 'will this even work on our data', a subsidised experiment is the cheaper way to find out. We will tell a client to do exactly that when it applies. Where the risk is integration and operations rather than model feasibility, a hub proof of concept will not answer it and a properly engineered pilot will.

## Does a proof of concept become the production system?

Almost never, and treating it as production is one of the most expensive mistakes we see. A proof of concept is built to answer a question fast. Production needs error handling, access control, audit logging, monitoring, rollback and a support model.

## Source and last review

Scheme parameters checked against European Digital Innovation Hubs — EU Commission (https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/activities/edihs) on 2026-08-18. Reviewed quarterly. Next scheduled review: November 2026. Digital Bridge is a supplier, not the awarding body. Eligibility, approval and payment are decided solely by the funding body named on each scheme. Figures below are the published scheme parameters as at the review date shown, and net costs are arithmetic illustrations of the published rate applied to our published prices. Always confirm current rules with the funder before you commit to any spend, because expenditure incurred before an application is received is almost always ineligible.

## What this costs

| Engagement | From | Typical grant route |
|---|---|---|
| AI Feasibility & Readiness Assessment | from €5,000 | Eligible for the Enterprise Ireland Digital Discovery Grant at up to 80% funding, subject to Enterprise Ireland approval and company eligibility |
| Baseline production build | from €15,000 | Not typically grant-funded |
| Multi-system agent workflows | €25,000 to €60,000 | Not typically grant-funded |
| Enterprise / multi-department programme | €40,000 to €100,000+ | Not typically grant-funded |
| Managed operation & optimisation | from €149/month | Not typically grant-funded |
| Brochure / Presence | from €499 | Not typically grant-funded |
| Growth | from €1,500 | Not typically grant-funded |
| Authority | from €2,995 | Not typically grant-funded |
| E-commerce & custom platform | from €5,000 | Not typically grant-funded |

All figures are ex-VAT and fixed against a signed scope. Grant outcomes are decided by the funder, not by Digital Bridge.

## Grant data currency

Digital Bridge is a supplier, not the awarding body. Eligibility, approval and payment are decided solely by the funding body named on each scheme. Figures below are the published scheme parameters as at the review date shown, and net costs are arithmetic illustrations of the published rate applied to our published prices. Always confirm current rules with the funder before you commit to any spend, because expenditure incurred before an application is received is almost always ineligible.

Last reviewed against the funder's published terms: 2026-08-18.

## Evidence

- Verdé Environmental Group — 24/7 AI incident triage with severity classification, Eircode geolocation and four-depot dispatch routing → https://digitalbridge.ie/industries
- tools.digitalbridge.ie — 50+ shipped production tools, including the Website Worth Index and the DigitalBridge Authority Score
- Printhouse — custom web-to-print platform with 29+ product pages → https://printhouse.ie

## How delivery is de-risked

- Seven-day shadow-mode pilot before any system takes live traffic.
- Full source-code and prompt ownership transfers on final payment.
- EU-hosted infrastructure, provider training disabled, signed data processing agreement.
- Fixed price against a signed scope — no hourly meter and no open-ended exposure.

## FAQ

### Why would I use a hub instead of paying an integrator to prototype?

Because if the honest technical question is 'will this even work on our data', a subsidised experiment is the cheaper way to find out. We will tell a client to do exactly that when it applies. Where the risk is integration and operations rather than model feasibility, a hub proof of concept will not answer it and a properly engineered pilot will.

### Does a proof of concept become the production system?

Almost never, and treating it as production is one of the most expensive mistakes we see. A proof of concept is built to answer a question fast. Production needs error handling, access control, audit logging, monitoring, rollback and a support model.

### How much does an AI integration project cost in Ireland?

Digital Bridge prices AI work in bands: an AI feasibility assessment from €5,000 (grant-eligible), a baseline production build from €15,000, multi-system agent workflows at €25,000–€60,000, and enterprise programmes from €40,000 to €100,000+. Small-business website builds start at €499. Every engagement is fixed-price against a signed scope.

### How long does a production AI build take?

A feasibility assessment runs three to five weeks. A baseline production build typically runs eight to twelve weeks from signed scope to go-live, including a seven-day shadow-mode pilot before the system takes live traffic. Multi-system programmes are sequenced into phases so value lands before the full programme completes.

## Related pages

- [All Irish AI grants compared](https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-grants-ireland)
- [Production engineering of a validated proof of concept](https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-integration-pricing#baseline-build)
- [AI engagement bands and pricing](https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-integration-pricing)
- [AI integration services](https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-integration)

## Contact

Digital Bridge, Gorey Business Park, Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland.
Phone: +353 85 224 1848. Email: hello@digitalbridge.ie.
Engineering lead: Joey Bray, Founder & Principal Engineer.

Last updated: 2026-08-18
HTML version of this page: https://digitalbridge.ie/ai-grants-ireland/edih-test-before-invest