NOTE TO THE USERS OF THIS TEMPLATE

The Outline Business Case (OBC) builds on the work done in the Strategic Business Case (SBC) by providing a full description of the requirement and setting out detailed options appraisal.  IF A STRATEGIC BUSINESS CASE WAS NOT COMPLETED IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE WORK REQUIRED FOR THE SBC IS COVERED AS PART OF THE OBC.  This will enable an early view to be taken on the viability of the proposed investment and avoid nugatory work should the project prove to be unfeasible.

The outcome for the OBC is to get to the decision point for the investment.  An approved OBC will result in the project moving forward to procurement and the issue of an OJEU notice if appropriate.

The template follows good practice guidance for local government and is intended to be flexible in use.  The contents may vary depending on the approval levels required for each investment as set down by the Local Authority's Standing Orders, Capital Investment rules and/or Financial Regulations.  The template includes the requirements of the 4ps GatewayTM Review process and we would recommend that this is closely followed especially for high risk projects including IT and construction projects or those which may be subject to review either by an internal or external team.

Notes are included as prompts to help the author complete each section.  The level of detail required for each section may vary depending on the complexity and/or value of the project.