Please refer to this guidance when completing the project business case template. More detailed guidance on the purpose of the business case and sections within it can be found on the internet .
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The business case is not a static document - it should be updated as your project evolves to justify why you’re doing the project and what you’ll achieve.
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The business case template is scalable depending on the size and complexity of your project. For more complex projects you would expect to produce an outline, strategic and full business case (all more detailed versions of the same template).
The front sheet should be used to summarise the information contained within the business case.
You need to ensure that both the Sponsor and Finance Business Partner sign off the final business case as part of the approval process.
Provide a summary of your project including:
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A clear description.
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Aims and objectives.
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Outputs, being clear about what you want the project to achieve.
Describe the current problem or opportunity that needs to be addressed.
 What’s triggered the project?
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Are there any research or feasibility reports to support the need for the project?
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Has the project been commissioned by a Programme Board or
Portfolio Leadership Team?
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Explain how the project: o will help deliver one or more of the Strategic Outcomes; o will help the Council to comply with legal or statutory duties or national policy/legislation; o and/or how the project will help deliver financial savings.
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Clearly state the scope or boundaries of the project, describing what’s in and what’s out. In particular:
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Are there any geographical boundaries?
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Describe which services, teams, people, tasks, processes etc. will form part of the scope of the project.
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Equally, be explicit about services, teams, people, tasks, processes etc. that won’t form part of the scope of this project. In these cases there might be something you want to pick up later under links and dependencies.
Include information about the financial (cashable and non-cashable) and nonfinancial benefits that the project will deliver.
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Describe how they will be measured and over what timescales you expect them to be achieved.
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Identify owners for the benefits both during and after project delivery.
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If your project reports to a programme, speak to the programme manager to discuss how your project will contribute to the programme benefits.
See the internet for more detailed information about benefits .
Explain any key assumptions upon which your project is based, including both financial and non-financial. Assumptions are made to deal with situations where the full facts are not yet known.
Assumptions may include things like:
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Dedicated project staff will remain in their current roles.
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New policy will be produced.
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New premises will be constructed.
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Partner resources will be available as needed.
For each assumption you should record the likely impact. For example, IF this assumption proved to be false, THEN the effec t on the project would be…
Identify and compare all the different options that have been considered to achieve the stated aims and objectives.
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List the advantages and disadvantages for each option. You may also want to compare outputs, benefits, outline costs, timescales and risks.
 Have you considered ‘doing nothing’? What would the impact be?
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Make sure you justify your chosen option.
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What links exist between your project and other projects?
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Are you dependent upon another project finishing before yours can start?
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Does the project require close working relationships with other parts of the Council or external partners?
Describe the wider impacts of your project. For example:
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Will your project mean a disruption to service delivery for a period of time?
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Will team structures have to change as a result of the project?
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Are there training needs that need to be considered?
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Have impacts on equality, environment and legal been identified and explored?
 Are there any likely impacts on the Council’s reputation?
Include headline risks that may have a detrimental impact on the successful delivery of your project. For each risk, simply describe the likely impact and probability (low, medium, high) as well as details of your planned mitigation.
Follow the corporate risk management framework to produce your full risk management plan.
Include details about how your project will be delivered, by who, and what controls and governance will be put in place to manage it. For example:
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Who is responsible for delivering key elements of the project? Have you got defined workstreams and workstream leads?
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What is the governance structure for your project? How will decisions be made?
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Will the delivery be managed internally or are you reliant on external partners through a procurement process etc.?
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What are the key milestones from your project plan? Include dates.
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When will the project benefits be achieved?
Resources should include information about people, expenditure and funding.
People
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Who do you need to work on your project - the number of Full Time
Equivalents (FTEs), and what is the cost for those people?
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What skills and experience do you need from those people?
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Are these people available and do they have the capacity to be part of the project team? If necessary include this information as an assumption at this stage.
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Do you need to commission work from another part of the Council, such as Capital and Major Projects, Transformation, Procurement, etc.?
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Do you need to involve business partners from HR, Finance or Legal
Costs etc.?
Use this section to summarise what your project costs are going to be. It might be useful to use Excel to document a detailed costing plan for your project and attach it to the business case. You need to profile your costs over the lifetime of your project including any development work required.
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Think about total staffing costs, including on-costs.
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Are there any revenue costs such accommodation, utility, marketing and publicity?
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Are there any professional fees such as consultancy, surveying or procurement?
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How much contingency do you need to build in?
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Are there any long term maintenance costs that need to be accounted for?
Funding
 Never start a project that isn’t fully funded!
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Use this section to summarise how your project is being funded, the source and whether it is secure at this stage or not.
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Are you using any revenue from a service business unit?
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Are you relying on any income that will be generated by the project?
Use this section to attach any reports or supporting information such as:
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Detailed costings for your project.
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Project Plan
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Risk Plan
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Research/feasibility reports
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Options appraisals
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