I was talking to a colleague yesterday who was under some pressure – a business colleague (let’s call him Bill for the sake of argument) was arguing forcibly that they didn’t need the “bureaucracy” of an investment appraisal because the project under review wasn’t a £2 billion programme.  That may well be true but the investment, in terms of the project and running costs, still runs into many millions – and that’s taxpayers’ millions.  Which means we need to be able to know the answer to three questions: 

1. What impact the project will have;
2. That that impact can’t be achieved more cost effectively; and
3. In an environment of funding constraints, it represents the best use of funding in light of the whole portfolio of change initiatives.

 After all Bill, it is taxpayer’s money.