Understanding the Investment Management Standard (IMS)
Practical Tools for Smarter Investment Decisions
Bespoke 1-day course for your team | In-person or virtual | Delivered by Ideas Advisory
Overview
This practical one-day course demystifies the Victorian Government’s Investment Management Standard (IMS). It shows how it plays a vital role in shaping smarter, faster, and more accountable investment decisions, particularly in the lead-up to the budget process.
Designed for public sector professionals, project leads, and policy teams, this session gives you the confidence to engage with IMS, know what good facilitation looks like, and use outputs to strengthen your business case.
Whether you’re drafting your first Investment Logic Map (ILM) or refining a Benefit Management Plan (BMP) for a major submission, this course gives you the tools and insight to do it right.
What You’ll Learn
- What is the IMS?
Understand the origins, structure and purpose of the core IMS tools, including the Investment Logic Map (ILM), Benefit Map (BM), and Investment Concept Brief (ICB). Learn how these products help you define the problem, clarify benefits, and articulate investment need. - How IMS supports the Budget Process
Learn how IMS outputs are used by the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) to prioritise funding proposals, improve clarity in business cases, and test strategic alignment with whole-of-government outcomes. - Direct links to business case types
Discover how each IMS output maps to key Victorian Government business case types—including concept cases, full business cases (FBCs), and High Value High Risk (HVHR) submissions. Understand how the Response Options Analysis Report (ROAR) supports robust options development and how the Benefit Management Plan (BMP) underpins benefit realisation over time. - How to access a facilitator
Navigate the facilitation process—who can run a workshop, what accreditation means, and how to ensure you engage the right person for your project. - What does ‘good’ look like?
Learn how to assess IMS outputs for quality and relevance. Explore real-world examples of high-quality ILMs, BMs, and ROARs, and understand how to get the most value from your workshops and facilitators. - Common traps and how to avoid them
Gain insight into common mistakes made in IMS processes—such as poorly scoped ILMs or unclear investment logic—and how to steer your project back on track.
Who Should Attend
This course is ideal for:
- Project sponsors and leads
- Public servants responsible for policy, strategy, or infrastructure
- Business case writers and approvers
- Central and line agency staff involved in funding or program design
Why Ideas Advisory?
Ideas Advisory has delivered and reviewed hundreds of IMS workshops and business cases across Australia. We are recognised experts in developing and reviewing Investment Logic Maps (ILMs), Benefit Maps (BMs), and Response Options Analysis Reports (ROARs) that meet government expectations and stand up to DTF scrutiny. Our team has trained facilitators, advised central agencies, and supported high-stakes investment proposals in health, transport, emergency services, education and more.
Looking for something tailored?
We can customise this session for your department or agency, and also offer variants aligned with other frameworks such as WA’s Strategic Asset Management Framework (SAMF) or Transport for NSW’s ILM model.
Ready to get started?
Contact us now to request a session for your team so they can gain a clearer understanding of how IMS can help shape smarter investments, faster.