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A readiness checklist for projects, programmes and interventions heading toward cost-benefit or wider economic impact analysis, for private, government and not-for-profit decision-makers who need the baseline, evidence and framing in place before formal analysis begins.
A completed checklist reports an appraisal-readiness status for the initiative: where baseline, counterfactual, cost or benefit evidence is missing; where potential double-counting risks sit; and which stakeholder and distribution questions remain open.
It closes with the specialist inputs required, a preparation roadmap and a recommended analysis scope, so a formal appraisal, if commissioned, starts from an organised evidence base rather than assembling one mid-engagement. A team preparing a facilities programme might find, for example, that lifecycle costs are well documented but no counterfactual has been defined, the single largest gap before credible analysis.
You work through the appraisal areas above for one named initiative, attaching notes and evidence references as you go, with guidance adapted to private, government and not-for-profit contexts. Rule-based checks identify missing evidence, double-counting risks and the distance between the current record and what a credible appraisal requires.
The checklist deliberately separates appraisal readiness from a completed appraisal: it tells you whether the analysis can credibly be done, not what the analysis would conclude.
Results are rule-based guidance generated from self-reported answers. They are directional, not accounting, legal or other professional advice, and a professional review working from evidence may reach different conclusions.
The appraisal record is preserved throughout discovery and approval, so evidence can be added and readiness rechecked as the initiative matures. Nothing you enter appears outside your Studio workspace.
Usage is measured at a category level (initiative type, appraisal perspective, checklist completion and missing-evidence category) to improve the checklist and to route relevant recommendations inside Studio.
In Studio the checklist lives under Tools → Economics & Commercial Decisions → Impact Appraisal, attached to a named programme, policy, technology investment, service change or capital initiative. It suits private, government and not-for-profit users, with context-specific guidance for each. The appraisal disciplines are shared, but what counts as evidence differs by sector.
The record persists through discovery and approval rather than being a one-off score: add evidence as it is gathered, recheck readiness, and convert the missing requirements into project tasks so appraisal preparation becomes a managed piece of work rather than a wish.
When the result points at a constraint that needs professional depth, these engagements pick it up.
Registration is free, no card required, and your results save to your workspace so the working stays in one place.