Business case development

A strong business case turns a good idea into funded work. Ideas Advisory develops business cases for Victorian Government agencies that make the argument a decision-maker needs: why the investment matters, what it will deliver, and why it is worth funding ahead of everything else competing for the same money. We build the case with you, from the investment logic through to the document that goes to Treasury or Cabinet.

Why Ideas Advisory

Greg Gough co-authored every edition of the Investment Management Standard, from version 1 to version 6, and helped create the DTF 16-Question Tool that reviewers use to judge a case. The cases Ideas Advisory develops and supports carry a success rate above 90 per cent and have helped secure more than $3 billion in investment across 19 state budgets. You are building your case with someone who knows exactly how it will be read, because he helped write the rules it is read against.

What decision-makers need to see

In government there are always more projects than money, so many sound investments never get funded. The reason is usually not the idea. It is a case that does not make the argument clearly. Before anyone commits funding, they need the case to answer four questions:

• What is the problem, issue or service need?
• What are the benefits of addressing it?
• What are the realistic options, and which one responds best?
• Is there a genuine case for investment?

Get those four right and the case has a spine. Everything else supports them.

How we develop your business case

We work closely with you to understand the project and build the case around it. A business case does two jobs at once: it convinces the funder to back the project, and it gives you the confidence that the investment stands up, financially and for the community it serves. We prepare both, the case for the money and the evidence underneath it, so the proposal withstands the scrutiny it will face.

A strong concept alone will not secure funding from government or the private sector. The case has to show the project is needed, deliverable and value for money. That is what we build.

The specialists we bring in

Every project needs different expertise, so we draw on a network of trusted specialists and match them to the job: economists, data scientists, gender impact specialists, and project and delivery experts, with others added as a case requires. You get advice you can rely on, from people who do this work at the level government expects.

What we develop

We develop the full range of cases: asset proposals (capital infrastructure and ICT), output and service funding bids, new products and services, business ventures and relocations, and preliminary business cases that seek funding to develop a full case. Whatever the type, the aim is the same, a case that is clear, deliverable and funded.

A draft can be tested through our business case review services before it goes in, and the benefits evidence strengthened through our benefit management work.

Start your business case

Tell us about the project and where it is up to, and we will map out what it takes to get it funded. Email info@ideasadvisory.com.au or call +61 0411 885 889 to start.