Education Business Cases in WA

Overview

A state government department of education commissioned dandolo to prepare three high profile business cases, each a Ministerial priority. dandolo was tasked with presenting a compelling narrative for each case, supported by comprehensive evidence. The key objective was to establish a clear and compelling case for the three initiatives to be funded.

The project involved developing business cases for three complex initiatives:

• To secure funding for a program to improve student wellbeing in public schools across the state
• For a multi-year and multi-initiative strategy to address the shortage of public-school teachers in the state
• To fund a campus merger of a split-campus secondary school in a regional town.\

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Approach

Communicating complex information into an evidence-based and persuasive narrative under tight timelines was a key challenge across all three business cases. dandolo’s experience and expertise in quickly understanding the core issues of the business case, drawing from different types of data and providing clarity and cut-through meant that we effectively navigated through these complexities and delivered high quality business cases in a timely manner.  

Each business case also had unique complexities, which required a tailored approach.  

• The student wellbeing business case involved sensitive matters relating to student mental health. We used our extensive experience engaging with stakeholders in and around the education system to consolidate information from students, parents, teachers, and communities. We approached this with sensitivity and sound judgement, to ensure that we were able to capture the problem and quantify the benefits of improved student mental health, in order to support a request for funding.
• The teacher supply strategy business case was challenging as the component parts were uncosted and were presented without a clear plan for how they would be phased. We clearly outlined the investments that would be necessary for each phase to increase the impact of the strategy and to provide delivery options to funders of the business case. This included estimating the impact (i.e., the number of additional teachers that would be generated) through each initiative.
• The campus merger business case involved making a case for the merger of two secondary school campuses operating below capacity. We split the business case out into two main arguments around efficient use of infrastructure and improving student outcomes. We ultimately had to advise the client that the case for a merger was a ‘line call’ due to the uncertainty around the potential impact on student outcomes of merging the two campuses.

The deliverables of this project were three comprehensive business cases, which included:  

• Persuasive evidence-based arguments for intervention and funding
• Feasible strategies for delivery and key project initiatives
• Financial and economic models, with project costs estimated under alternate scenarios
• Procurement strategies, with several feasible options
• Risk assessment of project implementation, with mitigation strategies
• An implementation plan, with detailed funding requirements over phases  
• An evaluation process based on short-, medium- and long-term outcomes.

dandolo developed and followed a detailed methodology for each business case. This included four key stages: gap analysis, stakeholder engagement and recommendations long listing, identifying shortlisted recommended initiatives, and completing implementation analysis for those initiatives.

First, we established the rationale for intervention and need for funding through gap analysis. This involved reviewing existing policies for each business case to identify current gaps. For example, in developing the business case for student wellbeing interventions, dandolo highlighted the lack of targeted prevention and support to meet diverse student needs.  

Second, we developed a longlist of recommendations following stakeholder engagement. dandolo long-listed strategic recommendations drawing on documents provided by the Department. In the case for the student wellbeing program, we collated information from eight external reviews and multiple sources. We identified 14 initiatives that addressed capacity challenges and a lack of targeted intervention, enabled system level monitoring and co-ordination and contributed towards strengthening student wellbeing in the state’s public schools.

Third, we shortlisted recommended initiatives based on department objectives, program impact and cost. We identified the initiatives that would best address the problem for each business case.  In the campus merger business case, we assessed the benefits of merging campuses based on efficient use of infrastructure and operating cost savings. For both the teacher supply and student wellbeing business cases, dandolo provided ‘packaged’ options for funding based on the highest cost-benefit ratio, overlaying key considerations such as sustainability and ease of implementation. For example, for the teacher supply strategy business case, we developed a package of initiatives that would immediately address the teacher shortage and a complimentary package of initiatives to address long-term teacher supply challenges.  

Lastly, we delivered analysis on the implementation of recommended initiatives. For each case, we developed options for how to implement and phase the recommendations, to give decision-makers choices around the quantum and timing of spend. This was supported by a risk assessment with potential mitigations. We also developed an evaluation and monitoring framework to assess the impact of each business case.

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Outcomes

The business cases provided the Department with a clear path forward to engage with the state Treasury and their Minister, including:

• a compelling evidence base for each case, and highlighting where there was weak evidence to support conversations for prioritisation, and
• options for scaling and phasing.

These cases were accepted by the Department and were submitted as part of the annual budget process.  

We received strong positive feedback from the client, who appreciated the support to deliver high-stakes business cases in tight timeframes.