Can you use an Innovation Voucher with a private consultant?
Enterprise Ireland Innovation Vouchers · User research and usability testing · Information checked 2 October 2026
A private specialist can contribute in exceptional cases, but you cannot simply use the voucher to pay their invoice. Enterprise Ireland allows a registered knowledge provider to request advance approval for external consultancy of up to 20% of the voucher’s value. The provider must retain the wider project; it cannot outsource the whole job. Read Enterprise Ireland’s FAQ, questions 18, 32 and 33.
Have a prototype to test, a difficult customer journey or a research question that needs a specialist? I’m Brian McCabe. I can scope the usability work your knowledge provider needs to consider—and deliver the agreed contribution when the commissioning arrangements are in place.
Scope the specialist research · See what I can do
Can the research happen outside an approved university?
There are two different questions here. You can work with an approved organisation that is not a university: the scheme’s knowledge-provider list also includes public research bodies. A private consultancy such as Usability.ie is a different category.
For specialist private input, start with the knowledge provider’s project and the task it needs help with. The consultancy exception is a route the provider can request, not a budget the voucher holder can allocate independently.
You can also commission a study directly from me, outside the voucher. That is useful when you need independent research without waiting for an institutional project to take shape. The scope, fee and payment arrangement are then agreed with you separately.
What does the 20% allowance mean for your study?
On a €10,000 standard voucher, 20% is €2,000. Treat this as a maximum for approved external input, not a guaranteed research budget or a fixed-price Usability.ie package. It is not a fresh allowance for every supplier you involve. Programme details and external-consultancy rule.
The practical starting point is one question, one part of the product and a defined output. A session plan, a bounded set of interviews or a focused analysis may be more realistic than trying to fit recruitment, fieldwork, a complete report and a redesign into the same contribution.
I will quote the actual work. Your provider can then consider that scope against the available budget and approval requirements. For co-funded projects, ask the provider to confirm the calculation rather than applying 20% to the larger total project cost.
What I can do for you
These are specialist contributions we can discuss for a provider-led innovation project. Choose the part the project needs; they are not a single bundled offer.
Turn the uncertainty into a research plan
“People struggle with our app” is a starting point, not yet a study. I help narrow it to a question that observation can answer: can a first-time user understand what is required, complete the important task and recover when something goes wrong?
I define the participant characteristics, realistic tasks, session structure and evidence to collect. The plan also identifies what the research will not answer, so everyone knows what decision it can support.
What you receive: a research plan, participant criteria, task script and observation framework.
Run in-person or remote usability sessions
I put the agreed journey in front of relevant people and watch them try it. The focus is what they understand, where they hesitate, which assumptions fail and what prevents completion—not whether they say they like the design.
In-person sessions can be scoped around the location, equipment and audience. Recruitment, access needs, venue, travel, recording and participant arrangements are agreed explicitly. Nothing is assumed to be included because it is called a “user test”.
What you receive: agreed session evidence and a clear record of observed barriers. Recordings are made only where agreed and consented.
Investigate a particular point of confusion
Sometimes the project needs a closer look at one interaction rather than another full round of testing. I can examine an onboarding step, form, permission request or save-and-return journey and identify the assumptions a study should investigate.
This can help the provider decide where to focus its research. An expert review is not a substitute for observing users, and I keep those two types of evidence separate.
What you receive: a focused evaluation, the questions it raises and priorities for investigation.
Turn the findings into decisions
I bring the evidence together, separate what happened from what it may mean, and explain what deserves attention first. A useful finding connects an observed problem to its consequence and a practical next step.
What you receive: a prioritised findings report and a handover your research, product and development teams can use.
See how I run usability testing · See the report format
Example: testing whether people can leave and return
An example brief for discussion.
A business is developing a new onboarding approach. Users need information they may not have with them, and the team is unsure how the proposed save-and-return interaction will work in practice.
The question is: Can first-time users pause the journey, understand what happens next and return without losing their place?
My contribution could be the task design, moderation of an agreed set of sessions and a focused account of where the interaction succeeds or breaks down. The knowledge provider would lead the wider research and integrate the findings into its project.
Before quoting, we would agree who supplies the prototype, selects and recruits participants, arranges consent, controls access to recordings and handles the overall report. We would also separate any recruitment, venue or travel costs from my research fee.
The output is evidence about this interaction—not a promise that the entire product is validated. The useful result is a clearer decision about what to retain, change or investigate next.
Does user testing count as innovation research?
There is a relevant institutional example. IADT’s published HomePage project summary describes user research, UX design, prototyping and usability testing for a digital platform. It shows these methods being used within a voucher project; it does not establish that an outside consultant was paid. Read the IADT project summary.
For your proposal, the important questions are what is genuinely uncertain, what the project will learn and how that learning informs a new product or service. Simply renaming routine market research, marketing work or standard website development does not make it eligible. Enterprise Ireland FAQ, question 22.
What to ask your knowledge provider
A useful first message describes the task, not just the supplier you would prefer to use:
We are investigating how people use [product or service], particularly [specific task]. We would like to discuss a defined contribution from Usability.ie covering [research activities and outputs].
Would this support your research plan, and would you consider seeking advance approval for the external input? Before commissioning, could we agree the scope, fee, contracting route and responsibilities for participants, data and reporting?
Keep this first exchange free of participant records and confidential documents. A short description is enough to establish whether there is a conversation worth having.
Use the research-scope template
Before we start
Already have a provider? Include its name and the part of the study where you need help. I can discuss a limited contribution rather than duplicate work the institution already plans to do.
Not sure whether you need a study or an expert review? Tell me what decision is blocked. I will suggest the research approach that addresses it, rather than start with a predetermined package.
Need an independent study instead? I can quote that directly. It does not need to be presented as a voucher project.
Ready to commission? Confirm the scope, payment and approval arrangements first. Quote preparation is not permission to begin chargeable research.
Tell me what you need to learn
Send a few sentences about the product, who it is for and the question you need answered. Include your knowledge provider, preferred location and timing where relevant.
I will respond about the research I can contribute, what I would need from the project team and how to scope it. Usability.ie does not redeem the voucher; the provider handles any request for approval of external input.