When a destination is weighing the potential for a major capital project, FORA balances the economic case by answering a key question of holistic readiness: is the destination genuinely ready to carry it — through community will, organizational capacity, and the funding environment necessary to sustain it?
A feasibility study tells you if the numbers work. FORA tells you if the place will work.
Economic analysis, pro formas, and cost studies are important elements to justify funding and construction, but they don’t tell the whole story. FORA incorporates the companion dimensions that bring the human element into focus — who will actually use the space, where it should go, how it affects surrounding businesses, and what community and elected-official support needs to be in place before the investment moves forward. FORA is built on a community-first premise, with economic viability as one dimension within it.
A placemaking project can pencil out and still fail the people it was built for. FORA answers the ultimate question that the spreadsheet skips: ‘Will they gather here?’
Sara MeaneyManaging Partner, Coraggio Group
Strengthens the case
Pairs well with demand and financial models — applying an established economic analysis model to a broader context of feasibility.
Tests holistic feasibility
Measures beyond dollars and cents — making sense of the interplay between quality of experience, accessibility and connectivity, community will and inclusive investment, organizational and governance readiness, resilience, and reputational risk.
Built for scrutiny
Designed to hold up to deliberation and due diligence — built to tell you the whole story, not to confirm a conclusion.
Seven pillars, three foundations of readiness.
Seven pillars, held together and weighed at once. Access shapes perception, perception shapes community will, and governance determines whether any of it will be supported for delivery. Select a pillar to see its lens of inquiry.
Examples of what we examine
How we source it
- Pillar 01
Destination Experience Quality
“Can this place deliver a quality experience worth traveling to?”
- Pillar 02
Accessibility & Connectivity
“Can people get here, and move around once they arrive?”
- Pillar 03
Community Will & Inclusive Investment
“Does this reflect what the community wants — and who does it serve?”
- Pillar 04
Organizational & Governance Readiness
“Is the organization ready to actually run this?”
- Pillar 05
Economic Feasibility & Investment Readiness
“Is the economic case directionally sufficient — and is the investment environment aligned?”
- Pillar 06
Environmental & Climate Resilience
“Is this investment durable over the next 20 to 30 years?”
- Pillar 07
Destination Perception & Reputation Risk
“What is the gap between self-perception and external reality?”
Scores aren't averaged.
A critical gap on any single pillar is a project-level finding that shapes the recommendation — regardless of how the others perform. A strong economic case can't outvote a community that isn't ready.
- Calibrated 1–5 scale per pillar, combining quantitative indicators and structured qualitative judgment.
- Funders increasingly require documented community alignment and equity positioning as conditions of award.
- The closing recommendation is conditional and sequenced — Advance, Advance with conditions, Pause and prepare, or Reconfigure.
A readiness map, and a sequenced recommendation.
A seven-pillar readiness assessment that tells you, your partners, and prospective funders exactly what conditions must be true, and in what order, before the investment is positioned to succeed. Every pillar gets a rating, a documented basis, and a place in the recommendation. Below is an illustrative example of the closing summary — the shape of the output, not a real destination.
Illustrative only. Scores and findings shown are composites created to demonstrate the format of a FORA summary; they do not describe any client or destination.
Advancement is feasible
Move to next phase — site selection, governance formation, funding applications — with conditions and sequencing noted.
Advance with conditions
Name the one or two conditions that must be resolved first, define what resolution looks like, and set a 12-month decision gate.
Pause and prepare
Hold the funding and partner pursuit until remediation is complete. Delivered with a roadmap and milestones, not just a caution.
Reconfigure
The current configuration isn't viable. Explore alternative scales, governance models, or phasing before reinvesting in feasibility work.
For the decision that has to hold up.
FORA is built for destinations, regions, and public-private partnerships weighing a major capital investment where a council vote, a funding application, and a community's trust all depend on getting the readiness question right.
- DMOs and destination councils weighing a convention center or major venue.
- Multi-jurisdiction regions aligning several communities around one investment.
- Leaders refreshing a feasibility study that predates today's market and funding conditions.
- Boards and councils who need findings that withstand public and funder scrutiny.
Find out if you're ready to build.
Start with a conversation. We'll scope a FORA assessment to your project and the decision in front of you.