Develop business cases

What is business case development?

Business case development is the ability to effectively create, analyse and present comprehensive justifications for undertaking a particular initiative, project, or programme. It involves the systemic analysis and evaluation of feasibility, benefits, costs, risks, and potential return on investment to inform data led decisions to be made.

Essential for:

• All types of transformation.

Knowledge

• Understanding of best practice for development of business cases (green book principles)
• Knowledge of benefits realisation
• Knowledge of risk management
• Knowledge of project and programme methodologies
• Knowledge of the local government governance framework including relevant legal and regulatory requirements.
• Knowledge of public sector finance regulations

Skills

Able to:

• Identify drivers for change: Including the current pain points, or opportunities that exist to drive transformation or change for the benefit of the organisation or residents, and in alignment with overall strategic outcomes.
• Define the potential benefits: To ensure there is value in the change, including financial and non-financial benefits. 
• Think strategically: To ensure the initiative aligns with the overall strategic outcomes and political ambition of the Council. 
• Analyse the feasibility, viability, and costs: analysis of current and future cost of service delivery, complexity and effort required to deliver the change and any constraints, and risk. 
• Develop an options appraisal: Setting out findings from discovery analysis activities including any research, and the evaluation of the feasibility, viability, and strategic fit.
• Apply stress testing: To ensure that in the context of the overall risk and change within the organisation, that the initiative is the right thing for the organisation at Strategic Outline Case (SOC), Outline Business Case (OBC) and Final Business Case (FBC) stages.
• Define the commercial and financial case: Working with finance and procurement colleagues to determine cost of any goods or services required using market intelligence and engagement. 
• Develop the management case: Setting out the project and programme governance, methodology which will be applied and how the change will be managed.
• Create a project plan to design and build the service, working with subject matter experts to create a realistic timeline and set of activities with aligned resources.
• Engage with stakeholders: To iterate the business case, adding levels of detail into the 5 sub cases between SOC, OBC and FBC. 
• Create the final business case: Setting out the recommended option to take forward, following further analysis, procurement of goods / services and finalisation of the associated costs, potential revenue, risks, measures of success etc.

Behaviours

• Collaborative
• Analytical
• Persuasive
• Listening
• Adaptable
• Positivity
• Resilience
• Inclusive
• Respectful