3.17 Sponsoring departments and procuring authorities should note that whilst the quantitative and qualitative assessments provide a framework for assessing VfM, there are specific limitations that need to be recognised, in particular:
• Innovation is difficult to model at the investment programme stage - until the market has proposed innovative solutions, their costs and benefits are unknown. However, this is not designed to prevent departments from procuring large and/or unique projects. The ideal at stage 1 is to uncover the scope and potential value of innovation.
Where the evidence base is currently limited, or the quality is poor, it becomes even more important that departments ensure that they conduct and disseminate both post-programme and post-project evaluations.