NHS Salford (also known as Salford Primary Care Trust) developed a Business Case template suite of documents for internal use. These documents assist managers and clinicians within the organisation to produce business cases. The documents successfully translate their proposals into logical and inclusive formats that meet the required levels of detail for evaluation. The template is used throughout the organisation, especially on proposals for investments in priority outcomes identified in the Strategic Plan and the Process for Investment and Reform (PIR). Use of the template has led to improvements in the organisation's commissioning processes and the prioritisation of investment projects.
The template provides staff with a recommended format for documentation, advice on who to involve in the development process and how to develop good quality, successful products. Within the suite of documents are two templates: a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) and a Full Business Case (FBC). The SOC must be assessed and scored prior to authorisation being given to develop the FBC.
NHS Salford has implemented a number of training opportunities to support staff using the tool. These include half day training course by the authors of the template and Business Case training by Salford University as part of a development programme its managers.
A second cohort of Salford University training events included an innovative 'Dragon’s Den' exercise as part of the Business Case training. This involved senior managers adopting the role of 'dragons' (potential backers of a business proposal). Staff would present scenarios as pitches to the senior management, who would then decide whether to invest in them or not. Their proposal was then critiqued. The feedback to this element of the training was extremely positive.
This piece of work has been shared with at least two Greater Manchester PCTs as they improve their processes for World Class Commissioning. This process could be replicated across sectors looking to improve their commissioning of projects and initiatives. The outcomes are yet to be fully realised however the use of the business case templates has enabled NHS Salford to prioritise investment projects.