Infrastructure investment across NHSScotland is approximately £0.5bn per annum. It is therefore essential that these resources are applied effectively and the impact/ benefit of such investment decisions are maximised.
In order to arrive at such decisions, it is essential that sound, robust analysis is undertaken. This Option Appraisal Guide builds on the Green Book guidance originally issued in 1997 (updated in 2003) and specific Scottish Government guidance issued on assessing Value for Money in PPP schemes.
As part of the Scottish Capital Investment Manual, this guidance is mandatory for all NHSScotland Bodies taking forward infrastructure investment proposals. The Option Appraisal Guide is the primary guide for NHSScotland. However, it should be read in conjunction with the Green Book, which remains an authoritative guide to the principles of appraisal and evaluation, and contains more detail on some aspects of them.
The principles of this guide apply to all infrastructure investments regardless of whether they are above or below NHS Board delegated limits. However, it is important that they are applied with appropriate and proportionate effort. This vital concept is explained in section 1.3.
The Option Appraisal Guide is structured around a 10-step approach to appraisal. The full text of this guide has been supplemented with a number of other useful appraisal resources including spreadsheets to help calculate NPVs and optimism bias.