Better Business Cases

The Government wants to improve the quality of analysis and decision-making in capital intensive Crown agencies (which includes tertiary education institutions). On 1 August 2010 Cabinet articulated its expectations for capital intensive agencies in CO (10) 02 Capital Asset Management in Departments and Crown Entities: Expectations.

The new business case process articulated in this circular will assist business case developers and decision makers through:

• clear rules and expectations;
• a scalable standard that ensures the level of effort in a  business case matches the scale and type of decision required; and
• clear guidance, training and support.

For the tertiary education sector, the main implications are:

• In the following situations, all business cases must be developed in accordance with published Treasury business case guidance:
  • Public Private Partnerships, and
  • proposals requiring approval from the TEC, the Ministry of Education or Ministers and/or requesting new capital from central government.
• TEIs will be expected to adopt the Crown’s business case processes and guidelines into their management processes for internal business cases, although this is not mandatory.

CO(10)(2) also requires the TEC to appropriately monitor major projects based on published monitoring guidance.

The value proposition for tertiary education institutions is access to a clear process that they can complete to create fit-for-purpose business cases, knowing how reviewers will assess the business cases. It also provides a highly credible business case standard based on international best practice, for internal use to assist with business case development and decision making even if approval from Government is not required.

Guidance

The TEC, in association with The Treasury, the State Services Commission and a number of individual institutions, has produced guidance to assist tertiary education institutions adhere to the business case requirements contained in Capital Asset Management in Departments and Crown Entities: Expectations. This guidance includes business case templates and criteria related to business cases that require approval by the Secretary for Education or Ministers.

For further information, please email camenquires@tec.govt.nz