Enterprise Ireland Strategic Consultancy Grant

The Strategic Consultancy Grant co-funds an external consultant engaged to develop and implement strategic change inside an Enterprise Ireland client company. For AI work it typically funds a multi-phase advisory engagement — strategy, architecture, governance and supplier selection — rather than the software build itself. Companies whose blocker is organisational rather than technical — no AI policy, no data governance, no agreed target architecture.

What this scheme funds

Funds a substantial external advisory engagement: AI strategy, target architecture, governance and EU AI Act readiness.

  • Multi-phase strategic consultancy delivered by an approved external consultant
  • AI strategy and target operating model design
  • Target technical architecture and integration strategy
  • AI governance, acceptable-use policy and EU AI Act risk classification
  • Supplier selection and procurement support
  • Implementation planning and change management

What it does not fund

These costs are routinely ruled ineligible under this scheme.

  • Software development and build work
  • Licences, infrastructure and hosting
  • Routine advisory work such as annual accounts
  • Retrospective costs

Who is eligible

Eligibility is decided by Enterprise Ireland, not by Digital Bridge.

  • Enterprise Ireland client company
  • The consultant is external, independent and appropriately experienced
  • The engagement addresses a defined strategic objective, not day-to-day operations
  • Board or senior sponsorship for the change is evidenced

How to apply

Typical end-to-end timeline: Six to ten weeks from proposal to approval is typical. Advisory engagements at this level then run eight to sixteen weeks, phased so that each deliverable is signed off before the next phase starts.

  • Agree the strategic objective with your development adviser
  • Define the consultancy phases and the deliverable at the end of each
  • Obtain a proposal that prices each phase separately
  • Submit for approval with the consultant's credentials attached
  • Begin only after written approval, and claim per phase as deliverables complete

Evidence you will need

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

  • Phase-by-phase consultancy proposal with costs
  • Consultant CV and comparable prior engagements
  • Statement of the strategic objective and how success is judged
  • Tax clearance and financial information

Why applications get rejected

The recurring reasons assessors give under this scheme.

  • The engagement is operational support dressed as strategy
  • Deliverables are vague — 'advice' rather than a named artefact
  • The consultant also stands to win the build and the conflict is unmanaged
  • No senior sponsor is named

What Digital Bridge delivers under this scheme

Illustrative net cost applies the published rate (Typically up to 50% of eligible consultancy cost) to our published engagement bands. It is arithmetic, not an offer of funding.

  • AI strategy, architecture & governance engagement — list From €15,000, illustrative net cost ≈ from €7,500 at 50% co-funding

Can the firm that writes the strategy also build the system?

It can, but the conflict has to be handled openly or the application is weakened. We handle it by pricing and contracting the advisory engagement separately, by writing the target architecture so that any competent integrator could deliver it, and by stating plainly in the report where we would be a suitable supplier and where we would not.

How is this different from the Digital Discovery Grant?

Digital Discovery funds a focused assessment answering 'should we do this, and where do we start'. Strategic Consultancy funds a larger engagement that designs the change and plans its implementation. Discovery is measured in weeks and thousands; Strategic Consultancy in months and tens of thousands.

Does EU AI Act compliance work qualify?

Governance, risk classification and policy design are normally treated as legitimate strategic consultancy where they are part of a defined change programme. Your adviser makes the call on your specific scope, and we would rather you asked before you contracted than after.

Source and last review

Scheme parameters checked against Enterprise Ireland — supports and funding (https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/supports) 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.