SEAI case study: Delivering a Microsoft‑based public sector transformation

Intro

Codec partnered with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to design and deliver a
Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure‑based digital register for the Community Benefit Fund linked
to Ireland’s Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS). The solution replaced fragmented
processes with a configurable, governed platform expected to support RESS for 30+ years and
capture more than €750 million in funding for communities.

Quick answer

Codec partnered with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to design and deliver a
Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure‑based digital register for the Community Benefit Fund linked
to Ireland’s renewable energy programme. The solution replaced fragmented processes with a
configurable, governed platform expected to support RESS for 30+ years and capture more
than €750 million in funding.

What was the SEAI digital transformation project?

Ireland has committed to achieving at least 80% renewable electricity by 2030. As part of the
Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS), a Community Benefit Fund (CBF) was created to
ensure local communities benefit from nearby renewable projects. The SEAI was tasked with
establishing and managing a national register to administer these funds in a transparent,
auditable, and scalable way.

Codec worked with the SEAI to design and deliver a Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure‑based
digital register to manage the CBF. The programme moved the SEAI from legacy,
fragmented processes to a configurable, governed platform that could handle complex eligibility
rules, payments, reporting, and compliance requirements at national scale.

This was not a simple “lift and shift”. It required translating policy intent into an operational
system that could work for multiple stakeholder groups: SEAI teams, local authorities,
community groups, and renewable project developers.

Why did the SEAI need a new system??

The SEAI’s starting point was typical of many public sector organisations facing new statutory
responsibilities:

Legacy constraints: Existing tools and spreadsheets were not designed for a national,
rules‑based fund with significant financial and reputational risk.
Policy complexity: The CBF sits within a broader RESS framework with detailed eligibility
criteria, reporting obligations, and audit requirements.
Scale and longevity: The system needed to operate reliably for 30+ years, supporting
multiple RESS auctions and evolving policy over time.
Stakeholder diversity: The solution had to serve internal operations, external applicants,
and oversight bodies, each with different workflows and information needs.

In practice, this meant technology was not the primary risk. The bigger challenges were
requirement ambiguity, governance, and designing a solution that could adapt as policy and
operational needs evolved.

How was the solution designed and delivered?

A structured, phased approach

The design and delivery process took almost two years, broken into three stages of delivery. This
phased approach allowed the SEAI and Codec to:

Clarify requirements iteratively rather than trying to define everything up front
Validate assumptions with real users before scaling
Manage delivery trade‑offs without jeopardising core outcomes
Build confidence across stakeholders as each stage delivered visible value

This is often how successful public sector transformations work in practice: not as a single “big
bang”, but as a structured sequence of decisions, prototypes, and releases aligned to operational
priorities.

Configurable platform over bespoke build

A key strategic choice was to use a configurable Microsoft platform (Dynamics 365 + Azure)
rather than a fully bespoke system. This offered several advantages in a government context:

Lower long‑term risk: Leveraging a mainstream, supported stack reduces dependency on
niche skills and custom code that becomes hard to maintain.
Easier evolution: As RESS policy and CBF rules change over decades, configurable
entities, workflows, and integrations can be adjusted without major rewrites.
Stronger governance: Built‑in security, audit, and integration capabilities align with public
sector expectations around accountability and data protection.

The solution was designed to encode business rules, approval flows, and reporting
requirements in a way that was transparent to operators and auditors, not hidden in opaque
custom logic.

Governance, stakeholders, and requirement ambiguity

Public sector programmes rarely fail because the technology doesn’t work. They struggle when
governance, stakeholder alignment, and requirement clarity are weak.

In the SEAI programme, delivery involved:

Multi‑layer governance: Regular steering, design authority, and risk reviews to ensure
decisions were traceable and aligned to policy intent.
Stakeholder complexity: Balancing the needs of policy owners, operations teams, IT,
finance, and external users who would interact with the register.
Requirement ambiguity: Some rules and edge cases only became clear once real
scenarios were tested. The phased approach allowed these to be surfaced and resolved
without derailing the programme.

This is where experience in government delivery matters. Knowing how to structure
conversations, prioritise outcomes, and make value‑based trade‑offs is as important as technical
capability.

“Evolving regulatory requirements can complicate the task of building infrastructure
solutions in support of these initiatives. But they can also serve as an invitation to
innovate. By harnessing the technical capabilities of Azure Cloud and Dynamics
365, we delivered a custom reporting solution that seamlessly integrates a strong
frontend user experience with efficient, transparent program execution.”

Eamon Breen

Commercial Lead Azure, Codec

What were the outcomes for the SEAI?

The transformation delivered several concrete outcomes for the SEAI and, by extension, for
Ireland’s renewable energy programme:

A national digital register for the Community Benefit Fund, replacing fragmented processes
with a single, governed platform.
Scalability and longevity: A solution designed to support RESS for 30+ years,
accommodating future auctions and policy changes.
Financial impact: The SEAI estimates the digital register will eventually capture more than
€750 million in renewable energy funding for communities.
Improved transparency and auditability: Configurable workflows and reporting make it
easier to track decisions, payments, and compliance over time.

Beyond the system itself, the programme also strengthened the SEAI’s internal capability to
manage complex, rules‑based funds in a way that is repeatable and adaptable as new
responsibilities arise.

What this case illustrates about public sector transformation

The SEAI programme is a practical example of how digital transformation in government
actually works when done well:

Policy to operations: The project bridged high‑level policy intent (supporting communities
via RESS) with day‑to‑day operational processes (applications, assessments, payments,
reporting).
Structured delivery: A multi‑stage approach allowed requirements to mature, risks to be
managed, and value to be demonstrated incrementally.
Platform thinking: Using a configurable Microsoft stack reduced long‑term risk and made
the solution easier to evolve as policy and operational needs changed.
Governance as an enabler: Strong governance and stakeholder engagement were not
overheads; they were central to delivering a system that could be trusted and sustained.

For other public sector organisations, the lesson is not “copy this architecture” but “adopt this
approach”: clarify outcomes, structure delivery, and choose technology that supports decades of
use, not just initial go‑live.

FAQ

What type of system did the SEAI implement with Codec?

The SEAI implemented a Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure‑based digital register to manage the
Community Benefit Fund under the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS). The system
handles eligibility checks, applications, approvals, payments, and reporting in a governed,
auditable way.

How long did the SEAI transformation take?

The design and delivery process took almost two years, structured into three stages of delivery.
This phased approach allowed requirements to be clarified iteratively and the solution to be
validated with real users before scaling.

What technologies were used in the SEAI project?

The solution was built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 for case and process management, with Azure
for cloud infrastructure, integration, and security. This stack was chosen for its configurability,
long‑term support, and alignment with public sector governance requirements.

What outcomes did the SEAI transformation deliver?

Key outcomes include a national digital register for the Community Benefit Fund, a platform
designed to support RESS for 30+ years, and an estimated €750 million+ in renewable energy
funding captured for communities over time. The system also improved transparency,
auditability, and operational efficiency.