All RDAs across England are closing by March 2012
(see transition and closure section).
With our resources reducing steadily, this page has not been recently updated and the information below may not be current.
If in doubt, please contact us directly.
Investment appraisal
A variety of organisations apply to the Agency for
funding. The information below explains the process for going
about it via what is known as the ’single pot’. This is a sum
of money provided to all Regional Development Agencies from central
Government to enable them to make investments.
For information on how to obtain European funding please see the
Funding and
programmes section.
Business planning
Following discussions between the relevant Agency teams and
external organisations, potential projects needing investment are
placed on a business planning spreadsheet. This indicates that the
project is something the Agency may consider investing in.
The Agency does not have a standard application form, but uses
two assessment forms (Strategic Assessment and Technical
Appraisal) which have been designed so that they can be filled in
directly by organisations looking for funding, or by Agency Teams
with information provided by these organisations (usually in the
form of a business plan).
Strategic Assessment
All projects then adere to the following process. A
Strategic Assessment is completed for a project proposal and
submitted to the relevant decision-making body / bodies. For
’single pot’ proposals this is the Agency Investment Group, which
consists of the Chief Executive, Executive Directors and the
Director of Finance.
The Strategic Assessment will establish:
- Whether the proposal will help fulfil the priorities identified
in the Regional Economic Strategy, the Agency’s Corporate Plan and
other relevant strategies
- The best way of realising the project’s aims, after looking at
all the options available
- That the project is capable of being realised, is affordable
and offers value for money.
If the Strategic Assessment meets the criteria for support, then
the project is allowed to move to the next stage. However,
depending on the size and nature of the investment it may also need
to be approved by other decision-making bodies such as the Agency
Board, the Central Projects Review Group (the Department of
Business, Innovation and Skills) and HM Treasury.
Technical Appraisal
The next stage involves completing a Technical Appraisal to
obtain firm detail on:
- How the project will be realised
- The costs, outputs, outcomes and impact of the project
- What the risks are to achieving it and how they can be
managed.
The relevant decision-making body considers the Technical
Appraisal part of the investment proposal.
A decision whether to invest or not is then made.
All projects have both a Case Officer (who manages the project
through the process) and a Senior Responsible Officer (who is
ultimately responsible for the project). In addition, the Agency’s
Technical Support Unit comments on all papers before they reach
Investment Group. This is to ensure they comply with best practice
in assessment, and all relevant investment guidance and regulations
(such as the Treasury
Green Book, the Department of Business Innovation and Skills’
‘’Guidance for RDAs on
Appraisal, Delivery and Evaluation’’ and the
EU State Aid Regulations).