Corporate planning

Ideas Advisory helps Victorian Government organisations use the Investment Management Standard to plan at the whole-of-organisation level, not just for single investments. We apply the IMS 'evaluate a program' practice to set out why an organisation exists, test how well it is delivering, and decide what to change to become more effective. It gives an organisation a clear view of whether the outcomes its program of work and investment were meant to achieve are actually being achieved.

Why Ideas Advisory

Greg Gough co-authored every edition of the Investment Management Standard and has facilitated more than 1,500 workshops applying it. The same logic that shapes a single business case scales to a whole program, and Ideas Advisory has done that work with organisations across government.

Why organisations do this

Government organisations keep creating agencies, policies and investments to meet an existing or emerging need in the community. These take significant resources and time to put in place, and there is always a risk that the original need has shifted, or the original response no longer makes sense in a changed environment. This practice validates whether the program is still needed and whether its design still holds, then evaluates how effective it has been. What you learn feeds the next strategy.

What it gives you

Most organisations run an annual budget cycle where the need for new investment is weighed, options are identified and decisions are made about how the budget is spent. Those decisions are sometimes made without a clear view of the challenges the organisation faces, or clear criteria to weigh competing bids. Without criteria, the loudest voices tend to win.

Organisations that use this practice report a range of benefits:

• better engagement of senior executives and key stakeholders
• a clearer case for new investment, and strong prioritisation criteria
• a substantial drop in the number of irrelevant investment ideas
• better investment solutions
• time and cost savings
• a clear view of the logic behind the investment program
• the ability to direct or redirect resources so the policy intent is met
• an evaluation of the program's overall effectiveness
• new knowledge for the people responsible for delivery

How it works

The practice runs as up to seven workshops:

1. Problem definition
2. Benefit definition
3. Response definition
4. Solution definition
5. Investment prioritisation
6. Benefit validation (later, when validating success)
7. Program effectiveness (later, when validating success)

The IMS practices were first used for single investments. They are now used just as often to set the logic for whole investment programs and to refocus an organisation. The workshop series draws on our investment logic mapping and benefit management services.

Start

If your organisation needs to plan its program of investment with a clear logic behind it, get in touch. Email info@ideasadvisory.com.au or call +61 0411 885 889.