11.21 The participants should be encouraged to run sensitivity analyses on their financial model so that the NHS body can identify which bids are more or less sensitive to factors. It may be that in choosing a preferred participant that the NHS body chooses to appoint a slightly more expensive but less volatile bid.
11.22 NHS bodies should obtain disk copies of the shortlisted participants' models and should ensure that they understand how the models work. The only person qualified to decide what the impact of a certain event would be is the participant and the NHS body should always ask the participant to run any key sensitivities. This is important both from the point of view of accuracy but equally ownership. The participant must accept ownership of a sensitivity otherwise it will use this later in the negotiation process.
11.23 The NHS body should request sensitivity analysis to cover any area of concern highlighted in the review of the model as well are any area of difference between participants. For example, this may include the effects of changes in interest rates (prior to financial close) and changes in the rate of inflation.
11.24 The NHS body should also consider running sensitivity analyses based on their own assumptions with regard to the availability of facilities, the performance of services and expected levels of indexation to assess differences between bids and funding structures.