Better Business Cases · Higher Education
The quality of the business case is the difference between getting executive support and resources — and having to wait another two or three years to try again.
All business cases I have presented this century have won executive support and resources.
Matthew Sullivan, Abbotsford & Provost
Across more than 25 years of higher education consulting this century, Matthew Sullivan has developed business cases for technology investment, scheduling transformation, process modernisation and institutional change — and every one has won executive support and resources. This page explains why.
When executives read a business case, they are asking three questions — whether they articulate them or not. A great business case answers all three, clearly and with evidence.
Vision & Outcomes
Executives need a clear, compelling picture of the future state — not a vague aspiration, but a well-defined vision of what the institution will look like when the investment has been made and the change has been delivered. The Strategic Case paints this picture.
Options & Value
Executives distrust cases that present only one option. They need to see that alternatives were genuinely considered, that the analysis was rigorous, and that the recommended path is the right one — not just the one that was decided before the case was written. The Economic Case makes this argument.
Affordability, Risk & Execution
Every executive has approved a project that looked good on paper and fell apart in delivery. The Management Case is where you demonstrate that you have thought through the delivery challenge — the governance, the risks, the roadmap, and who is accountable for what.
The Better Business Case (BBC) methodology is the most effective way of answering all three executive questions — consistently, rigorously, and in a form that builds genuine decision-maker confidence.
The BBC is not a consultant's invention. It originated with HM Treasury in the United Kingdom as the Five Case Model — a framework designed to improve the quality, consistency and transparency of public investment decisions. It was adopted by the New Zealand Treasury in the early 2010s and has since become the standard approach for significant public-sector business cases across New Zealand government, Crown entities and tertiary institutions.
When you present a business case built on the BBC, you are using the same framework your executives use to evaluate government investments. You are speaking their language.
Origin & Adoption
Originated with HM Treasury, UK, as the Five Case Model — designed to improve quality, consistency and transparency of public investment decisions.
Adopted by New Zealand Treasury in the early 2010s through a partnership with HM Treasury. Now the standard for NZ government agencies, Crown entities and tertiary institutions.
Widely used in Australia through Treasury-endorsed frameworks and sector practice. Emphasis on strategic justification, rigorous options analysis and evidence-based decision-making.
HM Treasury — Five Case Model
Developed to bring consistency and rigour to UK public investment decisions.
New Zealand Treasury Adoption
Became the NZ standard for significant investment decisions across the public sector — including universities.
Australian Higher Education Practice
Widely adopted across Australian universities as the gold standard for major investment cases.
Each of the five cases answers a different executive question — and together they give decision-makers complete confidence in the investment.
Strategic Case
Why must we act now, and what future state are we trying to achieve?
Economic Case
Which option delivers the greatest overall value for the organisation?
Commercial Case
How will we engage the market and obtain the required solution?
Financial Case
Can we afford it, and what is the full cost over its lifecycle?
Management Case
How will we successfully deliver the change and realise the benefits?
Every section of the Better Business Case answers a specific executive question. There is no waffle, no padding, no overview of the overview — just clear answers to the questions that matter.
| Section | What executives need to clearly understand |
|---|---|
| Strategic Case | |
| Strategic Case | Why must we act now, and what future state are we trying to achieve? |
| Investment Objectives | What measurable outcomes will define success? |
| Existing Environment | What problems, risks or constraints are preventing us from achieving our goals today? |
| Business Needs | What capabilities must exist in the future state to solve those problems? |
| Economic Case | |
| Long List Assessment | What broad approaches could realistically achieve the desired outcomes? |
| Short List Options | Which viable pathways deserve serious consideration, and why? |
| Economic Case | Which option delivers the greatest overall value for the organisation? |
| Benefits Realisation | What tangible improvements will stakeholders experience if we proceed? |
| Commercial & Financial Cases | |
| Commercial Case | How will we engage the market and obtain the required solution? |
| Financial Case | Can we afford it, and what is the full cost over its lifecycle? |
| Management Case | |
| Management Case | How will we successfully deliver the change and realise the benefits? |
| Risk Assessment | What could prevent success, and how will those risks be managed? |
| Implementation Roadmap | What happens next, and when will the future state become reality? |
| Recommendation | What decision is being requested, and why is it the best path forward? |
These are the sections where most business cases either capture executive confidence — or lose it. Getting them right is not optional.
"Why must we act NOW, and what future state are we trying to achieve?"
What happens if the institution does nothing? The cost of inaction — operational risk, reputational damage, compliance exposure, student experience deterioration — must be made vivid and specific.
A clear, compelling picture of the future state. Not a technology specification — a description of how the institution will operate, what students will experience, and what capabilities will exist.
Measurable, specific, time-bound. Executives need to know what success looks like — and how they will know it has been achieved.
A well-drawn target environment diagram does more work than a thousand words of narrative. Executives who can see the destination are far more likely to fund the journey.
Why this is where you capture hearts
The Strategic Case is where you make the emotional and rational case for change. Executives need to feel the urgency before they will engage with the detail.
A weak Strategic Case — vague aspiration, no urgency, no clear future state — means the rest of the document will be read sceptically, if it is read at all.
A strong Strategic Case creates a shared sense of purpose. Executives leave the section thinking: "Yes, we need to do this." Everything that follows is then read in that frame.
"Which option delivers the greatest overall value for the organisation?"
Show that you genuinely explored the space of possible solutions — not just the one you had already decided on.
Options assessed against clear criteria — financial and non-financial value, risk, strategic fit. The paths not taken are as important as the one recommended.
Student experience, staff productivity, risk reduction, compliance capability — these matter as much as the financial return, and must be credibly quantified.
The analysis does the persuading, not the recommendation paragraph. If the case is built correctly, the preferred option is obvious before it is stated.
What executives are really afraid of
Executives have seen too many cases where the preferred option was chosen before the analysis was done — and the options were window dressing.
The question running through every executive's mind is: "Did they actually look at alternatives, or did they start with the answer?"
Genuine rigour is the answer. Show the road not taken. Explain clearly why you did not take it. The thoroughness of the analysis is itself a confidence signal.
"How will we successfully deliver the change and realise the benefits?"
Who is accountable? Who decides? Who escalates? Executives need to see that someone is genuinely in charge — not a committee of equals with no one responsible.
What could go wrong — and what is the plan? A risk register with mitigations is not pessimism, it is evidence that the delivery challenge has been thought through.
When does the future state become reality? A credible timeline with milestones and decision gates is worth more than ten pages of strategy narrative.
Assign a named owner to every benefit. Nothing signals commitment like putting a name against a promised improvement — and nothing signals vagueness like leaving benefits unowned.
The most underestimated section
Every executive has been burned. A project that sounded compelling on paper and fell apart in delivery. The Management Case is your opportunity to say: we have thought this through.
A vague Management Case signals the opposite — that delivery has not been considered seriously. It is the fastest way to lose executive confidence that was built through the Strategic and Economic cases.
A strong Management Case says: we know what could go wrong, we have a plan, and someone specific is accountable for making this happen.
The gap between a weak and a strong business case is not usually the quality of the underlying idea — it is the quality of the case made for it.
Whatever business case you are working on — or the one you need to write — these four actions will make it stronger.
Ask the three questions
Can your current business case clearly answer all three executive questions? If any one of them is vague, incomplete or missing — that is your gap.
Draw your target state
A clear diagram of where you are going is worth more than any narrative paragraph. If you cannot draw it, you cannot fund it.
Name your options honestly
Document the paths you considered and the reasons you did not take them. The rigour of the options analysis is itself a confidence signal.
Put a name against every benefit
Unowned benefits do not get realised. Assign accountability before you present — and name the person responsible for delivering each promised improvement.
Whether you are at the beginning — trying to frame the problem — or mid-way through and struggling to get the case over the line, we have done this before. Reach out.