Appendix One Methodology

Method

Purpose

Literature review

To gain an understanding of the sector. To direct other methodologies.

File and document review

To gather evidence on how the Department and the Agency have set strategy and managed the programme.

Expert panel

To provide assurance on methodologies, findings and conclusions.

Semi-structured interviews with public sector contract managers and private sector PFI operators for all 40 projects in rounds one to five.

To assess the perceptions of local staff of the central management of the programme. To gather evidence on common challenges and examples of good practice.

Semi-structured interviews:

•  Department and Agency officials

•  Legal and financial advisers

•  Other government organisations

•  Key stakeholder organisations

To gather evidence on how the Department has developed its strategy for using PFI in housing and how it has managed the programme. To provide contextual background on housing policy and delivery.

Process mapping

To establish the PFI procurement process from a local authority perspective identifying any potential inefficiencies or bottlenecks.

Analysis of available data comparing the value for money of housing procurement routes

To assess the capital cost, timescales and satisfaction with PFI housing compared to other procurement routes for building and refurbishing homes.

Analysis of Department and local authority procurement cost data

To assess the procurement costs of PFI housing projects compared to other departments and routes.

Case study visits to seven projects

To gather detailed illustrative evidence to support examples of particular challenges or good practice.

Accounting treatment analysis

To assess whether accounting treatment is a driver for using PFI in housing.