The ultimate resources for diving deeper into the HM Treasury’s Five Case Model
Systems for success
Having systems in place to ensure success is crucial in all areas of our lives. We do this in everything from our daily routines to long-term goals: how you structure, approach, and plan for any problem (or rather how to avoid problems) doesn’t lie in the setting of the goal but rather the systems and frameworks around it.
It is no different in business.
Probably the most frequently asked question when creating Business Cases is;
- How do I get budget approval for my idea?
- How do you structure and plan to achieve budget approval success?
Our answer is; The Five Case Model.
The Five Case Model
The real value in the Five Case Model process is the thinking required. It allows individuals, companies, and governments to tackle output value and work backwards to ensure success strategically and systematically. Through its in-depth value analysis, it creates the structure that plans for success, and if done thoroughly leads to budget approval. The model considers value from 5 perspectives (cases):
“The Strategic Case” Is there a strong case for change (doing something different)
“The Economic Case” Does the preferred solution optimize value for money
“The Commercial Case” is the initiative commercially viable
“The Financial Case” is the initiative financially viable
“The Management Case” can the initiative be delivered successfully
This approach provides a discipline and structure to arrive at the best possible decision. Requiring judgement and experience as in any decision-making process, it can be applied in a wide range of situations. E.g. From major capital schemes, that will result in something being built or procured, to a new hospital or school, a major IT development, a new road scheme, the Five Case Model can inform large scale schemes.
However, it can be applied equally as well to a much broader range of situations where a significant decision has to be made. Examples of these include; disinvestment in service x or service y, the comparison of benefits to emerge from policy/strategy A or policy/strategy B, or a major change initiative requiring re-engineering or reforming (e.g. an acquisition or merger). Not all of these require a significant investment of capital, but nonetheless are significant to the success of the organisation’s goals. The initiatives are very different, but all require the structure of thought and discipline that the Five Case Model provides:
✔Secure funding
✔The highest value.
✔ Success even under time restrictions
Since the model provides a consistent format to inform decision-making it enables users to make smart investment decisions that maximize the value for the public sector. To maximize public value, however, we need to maximize the value we get out of the model.
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” James Clears Atomic Habits.
To ensure success you need to solidify your system. As are most things, the Five Case Model is what you make of it. So, in order to help you, we’ve compiled our top 5 most value-laden resources, ensured to help you dive deeper into the intricacies of a successful Business case. If you relate to any of the questions below, we urge you to explore the free knowledge resources our leading experts have shared and level up your Business Cases.
1. Want to avoid the common problems of implementing the Five Case Model and need to create a case under a time crunch?
In our first resource, a podcast with Joseph Lowe, Editor of the Green Book and Head of Economics Branch at HM Treasury, he discusses how to create a business case under pressure and the most common problems to avoid in developing business cases. “What usually goes wrong is that people jump to an interim solution in their mind without taking the problem apart […] they retrofitted their design onto a pre-formed conclusion and they didn’t do proper analysis.”
2. Need to translate your knowledge into action and identify the correct problem indicators?
In our second resource - a podcast with Milvio De Bartolomeo, the first person globally to concurrently hold the Strategy Implementation Professional, Managing Benefits and Better Business Cases Practitioner certifications, he breaks down the main problems he’s seeing around the Five Case Model “leaders focus on the lagging indicators – not leading indicators”.
3. Want to learn how to convert the softer benefits into financial indicators?
Listen to John Humphries, Consultant, Trainer and Author, break down how companies are using the Five Case Model to turn soft data into cases that demonstrate the monetary value of shifting focus:
Or view the video with John Humphries on our Midday Mentors episode:
4. Want to get a visual of how you can begin to use Business Case models?
Download this free BBC Programme and Project Flowchart, so you can begin to see where these above tips could help improve your future cases:
5. Want to get a more specific breakdown on Government Spending Plans
Blog on Better Business Cases for Government Spending Plans:
