What will the investment panel receive?
The Single Assurance Framework requires a suite of documents to be provided to the Investment Panel when it is reviewing a project proposal/ business case, each document is designed to assist the decision-making process in its deliberations.
Investment Panel members when considering a business case will receive the following documents:
Board Friendly Business Case
- The Board Friendly Business Case provides an executive summary of a proposal, answers some key questions relevant to that stage and provides an additional summary for each of the five case model elements. It will also provide embedded links to take you to each appendix that provides the detailed evidence to support that business case.
- Panel members will need to review the Board Friendly Business Case and the embedded appendices in order to get a good understanding of the evidence base to support the business case. Panel members are advised to focus on the appendices relevant to the five case model element that they are representing.
Business case Appendices
- As mentioned above each Board Friendly Business Case will provide embedded links to take you to each appendix that provides the detailed evidence to support that case. There will be a context appendix for each element of the five case model with every case that will set out key information. Additionally there will be appendices that are provided on WMCA templates and others that are not but are required to meet a set standard.
- Panel members will need to review the appendices, they are advised to focus on the appendices relevant to the five case model element that they will be representing. It is important that the appendices are reviewed by Panel members on behalf of the Investment Board to pick up and review the key detail and evidence that supports a case.
Assurance Observation Report
- The Assurance Observations Report provides a maturity assessment of a business case against HMTs Green Book and WMCA standards, it will also highlight red flags were it believes information is not mature enough or where it believes standards have not been met. It is produced by Assurance experts from within the Strategic Hub.
- Panel members are asked to consider how a Directorate/ Sponsor responded to an Assurance Observations Report, if they ignored red flags or the business case was advanced without being sufficiently mature then this could increase the risk of approving such a proposal.
Executive Director progression sheet
- The Executive Director Progression Sheet contains the comments provided by the appropriate lead WMCA Executive Director who agreed to progress the business case into the approvals phase after considering both it and the Assurance Observations Report.
- Panel members are asked to review the comments contained within the progression sheet and consider how the Executive Director took on board the Assurance Observations Report.
Risk and Investment Appraisal
- The Risk & Investment Appraisal is undertaken by specialist appraisers within the Strategic Hub on all business cases requiring an approval over £1Million. The appraisal seeks to review a business case against additional commercial and investment considerations and WMCA criteria and standards.
- Panel members are asked to review the appraisal to see what key risks it may have identified and any actions or recommendations that it may be proposing. This can form a useful aid in preparing for a Panel meeting.
As well as assisting the Investment board in its consideration of business case proposals you will have other tasks as an Investment Panel member, these will include:
- Oversight of the Collective Investment Fund Dashboard.
- Oversight of the revolving Investment Fund Dashboard.
- Oversight of the Brownfield Land and property Fund Dashboard.
- Oversight of the Land and Property Investment Fund Dashboard.
- The Strategic Hub can provide advice and training on each of these elements.
In addition Investment Panel members also have a role in the Delivery Stages of projects and programmes to support the role and functions of the Investment Board, these can include the following:
- Support Investment Board by providing oversight of performance and M&E plan.
- Support Investment Board by providing oversight of or undertaking formal review of project if review determined to be required by the Investment Board.
- Support Investment Board through review of rationale behind any material delay or change in a project
- Support Investment Board by instructing where reasonable completion of a change request (via the WMCA Assurance Process) following completion of a review.
Again the Strategic Hub can provide advice and training on each of these elements.