Appendix 1: About our assessment of the business cases
Investing in tertiary education assets.
The table below lists and describes the business cases that we assessed.
| Business case | Description |
|---|---|
| WelTec Whitireia: Centre of Excellence for Creative and Performing Arts | Building an integrated campus to rationalise provision of performing arts and technologies |
| Victoria University: Capital Investment 2014-2024 | Address Kelburn Campus space constraints on growth, remove current asset-based risks to service delivery, improve the quality of assets, the strategic utilisation of operating, and capital resources |
| University of Canterbury (UC): Science Implementation Business Case (USB) UC Futures: College of Education and Dovedale Strategic Business Cases Addendum UC Futures: Canterbury Engineering the Future UC Futures: Whole of Organisation Financial Case |
Tranche of cases about rebuilding University of Canterbury campus after earthquake damage |
| Unitec Whole of Organisation Transformation | Rebuilding of campus and transforming organisation |
| Lincoln University's Science Facilities Redevelopment | Rebuilding science facilities following earthquake damage |
| CPIT New Tertiary Organisation in Canterbury Better Business Case | Integration of Aoraki Polytechnic and CPIT and development of new campus |
| Increasing collaboration between the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and the Waiariki Institute of Technology | Voluntary merger of two institutions of equal standing to provide more and better provision in the Bay of Plenty |
| MIT: Manukau City Centre Campus | To develop a substantive tertiary campus in Manukau City |
| University of Auckland: Newmarket Site | Acquire new property to rationalise campus provision within central Auckland and divest unwanted land and buildings |
| Massey University: Student Management Sector Implementation | Implementation and ongoing support of a modern and adaptable University-wide student management solution |
| CPIT: Trades Training Response to Christchurch Rebuild | Increasing the supply of trades-qualified people by redeveloping the campus |
Our assessment criteria
Our assessment criteria were:
- Are risks clearly set out?
- What financial and service performance metrics are used to monitor project or programme progress?
- What financial and service performance metrics are used to evaluate project or programme success?
- Are forecasts shown to be monitored or evaluated (either by the provider or monitoring agency)?
- Is revenue, such as from international student numbers, forecast?
- Are domestic student numbers forecast?
- Are international student numbers forecast?
- Are management strategies identified for the risks and opportunities (for example, increasing asset efficiency)?
- Are asset investment and management decisions of other tertiary education institutions considered as part of revenue and other forecasts?
- Are opportunities to use assets across the sector considered as part of revenue and other forecasts?
We also collected some specific facts about each business case, for example, noting whether affordability indicators were used.
The Better Business Case methodology
The business cases we assessed followed the Tertiary Education Commission's mandated methodology for better business cases. The objectives of the methodology are to:
- enable smart investment decisions for public value;
- reduce the costs of developing business cases;
- reduce the time it takes to develop business cases; and
- meet recognised good practice.
The Treasury provides a range of business case guides, templates, and other resources depending on the decision being sought, the nature of programme or project, and the associated scale, risk, and uncertainty.