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IMPLICATIONS OF INVESTMENT DECISION MAKING ACCORDING TO ARTICLE BY STEPHEN A. ROSS.

According to STEPHAN A. ROSS , The Investment Decision Maker (IDM) role is applied in several ways in programmes and projects. It also has specific responsibilities in construction procurement projects within the Achieving Excellence initiative. The IDM’s main responsibility is to commit funding for a programme or project.

In a wider programme (and to a lesser extent project) environment, IDM responsibilities may be combined with the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) role where an individual is able to take on the responsibilities of both. It may be that an individual takes the role when investment is confined to a single department but the IDM may also be a collective responsibility shared by the Sponsoring Group who together provide the mandate and means to support the investment. The latter view is the one presented in the Managing Successful Programmes(external link opens in a new window / tab) framework which addresses the wider programme and project context for an organisation.

In major investments the level at which investment decision making takes place will depend on the size and complexity of the programme or project and its political sensitivity. For large programmes or projects within a single department, the role may typically rest at Permanent Secretary or Accounting Officer level, that is at the top of the hierarchy that forms the departmental chain of command. This function represents senior management’s commitment to the programme or project and the requirements for regularity, propriety and value for money. For large, complex or sensitive cross-cutting investments it may be that the Minister takes a leading role in the investment decision making process. The IDM must ensure that ministers are given all relevant facts when they are invited to make a decision.