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Sarah Johnston, Principal Consultant at S3 Solutions shares some thoughts on developing business cases for clients....
The five-case model is the treasury’s approach to all public spending decisions and it is designed for the purpose of delivering public value. Preparing a business case is not just a hurdle to be overcome but a process we undertake along with our clients. Using this model provides our clients and their funders with a proven framework for measuring the value of a project proposal.
The project is examined from five different viewpoints:
The Strategic Case considers why are we proposing this project and what we expect to be different when we have completed it. We also examine how the project might impact on other ongoing programmes of work.
The Economic Case looks at the public value offered by the project, we try to quantify the economic and social value of the project as far as is possible in order to enable fair comparisons to be made between the various options for delivering the project. We recognise that this is not always possible, so we also take qualitative comparisons into account when we examine public value within the economic case.
The Commercial Case examines the project proposal from the supply side perspective. We look at commercial deliverability- can we actually buy the goods or services that we need to make the project happen?
The Financial Case asks can we afford to implement this project and asks where the necessary funding is going to come from.
The Management Case looks at how the project should be rolled out in order to ensure it is workable and can deliver the benefits proposed.
The five-case model carries within it, gateway review points where the project team takes time to check conditions are right, in order to proceed to the next phase of the project appraisal. This methodology requires robust consultation with stakeholders and a strong evidence base. At S3 Solutions our qualified practitioners understand that projects can only deliver their intended outputs and benefits if they are properly scoped, planned and cost justified from the outset.
Making the Case for Change:
Our dedicated team are proud to undertake this work every day, we know that building better business cases helps our clients and their funders to improve their project success rates and protect their investments.
We have highlighted in the following case study some of our work on business cases funded under the NI Football Fund.
S3 Solutions were contracted to produce Five Case Model Business Cases for three high performance football clubs for consideration by the Department for Communities (DfC) under the NI Football Fund, a planned £36 Million Fund for investment in football facilities across NI. The business cases were funded by DfC with S3 Solutions working directly to each club as client and HM Treasury standard business cases were produced for three projects ranging from £3.6 million to £10.5 million.
S3 Solutions led the business case development process for each individual client from start to finish which included the following activities:
Determining the spending objectives, existing arrangements and constraints;
Liaising with key stakeholders including national governing bodies, community groups and political reps;
Conducting an online survey for club supporters and the wider community;
Collating all feedback to produce a needs analysis report;
Facilitating at least two workshops with each Club to determine the case for change and to scope project options;
Quantifying the economic and social costs/benefits and considering qualitative factors of each project to gauge public value;
Formulating public value for money calculations known as net present values;
Financial modelling for each project to ascertain affordability and funding requirements;
Selecting the preferred option via highest risk adjusted net present value; and
Providing a detailed analysis of the operational conditions required for successful delivery of the project and it’s future management.
Each business case was accepted by DfC and Strategic Investment Board Economist teams as being comprehensive in nature and in strict adherence to the Five Case Model.
Developing a business case is a process our qualified practitioners undertake on behalf of and alongside our clients. At S3, we go to great lengths to ensure our consultation processes are meaningful and our clients are involved every step of the way through facilitated workshop sessions and review checkpoints. Our business case team work hard to produce business cases which not only meet the rigorous conditions for public spending set by the treasury’s Five Case Model but truly reflect the objectives, capabilities and ambitions of our clients.
For more information on our consulting work, contact the S3 Solutions team today.
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