Building a business case

To help you comprehensively build a business case you could use this five-step model that draws on the HM Treasury Green Book Guidance.

The model addresses:

  • The strategic case – setting out the rationale for the proposal
  • The economic case – outlining the costs and benefits of the proposal
  • The commercial case – covering commercial feasibility and contractual issues
  • The financial case – issues of affordability and sources of budget funding
  • The management case – management responsibilities, governance and reporting arrangements

You can use this template to help you organise your thinking.

Successful case studies

This case study shows how the British Postal Museum and Archive focused their approach to working with politicians to deliver a successful advocacy campaign.

This case study focuses on advocating internally for resources to invest. It illustrates how the John Lewis Partnership Archivist influenced important stakeholders, building rapport and understanding of the importance of the archive.

This case study from Cumbria Archive service illustrates how creating a vision statement can act as a compelling advocacy tool.