Who Cares Wins - Royal College of Psychiatrists

service. A comment should be made on the specific service developments that are required to
meet the identified need. The implications (including cost) of investing or not investing in the
scheme should be recorded.
Project management and evaluation
6.20 Summarise what the service objectives are and what benefits these objectives will bring.
Objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-linked). Ideally,
they should be outcome rather than process oriented and should be listed in order of priority for
the commissioner receiving the bid. A description of the management of the project should be
included with milestones and evaluation described according to the specified objectives.
Option appraisal
6.21 This section should consider a number (no more than 5) of different models of service delivery
(see Section 3). One of the options considered should be the “do nothing” option.
6.22 A description of each option should include details of:
• Staffing (medical, nursing, management, secretarial etc)
• Activity (direct patient working, supervision, liaising with community, teaching and training).
• Particular benefits of that model
• Costs (start-up, capital and revenue including staff, accommodation, travel, administration,
overheads etc)
6.23 The finance department should be involved as early as possible, as all costs must be included,
and this section will be closely scrutinised. There may be potential savings to other parts of the
health economy (health or social care). The “do nothing” option should also be costed as a
baseline by which others will be compared. A forecast of how costs and savings might change
over the first 3 years is recommended.
Risk
6.24 It is recognised that in all project plans timelines for achieving milestones and figures on expected
activity and cost are estimates. The inclination when applying for funding is to underestimate costs
and overestimate success. Potential threats to achieving the intended objectives should be
considered, particularly the more likely or critical ones. This will demonstrate that the proposal has
been thoroughly thought through and that the project management will be looking out for these
factors in achieving a successful outcome for the service. Consideration of risk may influence
which option is preferred. There may also be risks associated with the service being more
successful than intended such as waiting lists, staff burnout etc.
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