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