“Economic appraisal is a type of decision method applied to a project, programme or policy that takes into account a wide range of costs and benefits… for which a monetary equivalent can be estimated.”

The idea behind an economic appraisal is to systematically look at the rationale for a project or policy, its objectives and costs and benefits, to work out whether the project or policy in mind is affordable and represents good value for money, given the risks involved.

If you’re new to economic appraisals or perhaps just a bit rusty, then I hope this post has shown you just how powerful they can be as an ally to good decision-making.

If you’re used to putting business cases together, then why not see if you can make use of these principles, too? They’re sure to add strength to any

business case.

Business cases

Although similar, business cases and economic appraisals aren’t quite the same. However, I really believe that anyone writing a business case can get a lot out of applying some of the methods used in economic appraisal.

The two methods are very complimentary and if you’re writing a business case, why not use some of the economic appraisal techniques in conjunction with standard business case methodology? It’ll definitely help your business case stand out from the crowd and could lead to better overall decision making, too.