Government agencies at all levels are faced with the challenges of managing assets. The community wants modern, new, and improved facilities, but it may be more economical and sustainable for ageing assets to be renewed. There is increasing demand on resources for asset investment. It can be challenging to decide how to provide best value for the community, particularly as many agencies and local governments lack capacity and resources for extensive analysis of the range of options presented to them.
Our case study for this presentation is the Capital Work Prioritisation tool, developed for a local government client. It is a pragmatic and feasible tool that supplements human decision-making within the current resource constraints of government. It is:
The tool is in the form of a questionnaire which requires quantitative and qualitative responses. The focus is on the urgency and strategic alignment of the project - in particular, the risk, safety, compliance, and evidence of agreed levels of service. Questions can be weighted to suit the organisations strategic goals and risk appetite.
It can be used at various stages of the project lifecycle to prioritise a costed list of projects.
The raw data from the questionnaire generates a prioritisation output sheet: a ranked and scored list of projects which can be presented in various ways. The main benefit of the tool is that it will prioritise opportunities avoiding unintentional bias. The organisation can still make the final decision on priorities, using their judgement. However, this tool will provide assurance that the proposed projects have been vetted and the bases for prioritisation are clear and objective.