New risk analysis panel selected to help provide government projects with more value for money

28 February 2008

The State Services Commission has established an expert panel to supply Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA) services to all government agencies in an effort to better manage project costs and provide more value for money.

"QRA requires rigorous analysis of potential risk events that might impact on costs throughout development of a project," says Laurence Millar, Deputy Commissioner Information and Communications Technology.
"We have set up a panel to provide government agencies with a central and verified source of QRA expertise. We expect this will help provide greater assurance of the potential costs involved in large government projects and, in turn, better value for public funds."

All ICT-enabled business projects assessed as significant enough to be monitored by the State Services Commission and Treasury are subjected to a Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA) of the project costs. QRA analysis is required by Cabinet to be used as the basis for all project appropriations, access to contingency funding and cash draw-downs. QRA provides visibility of the range of likely cost outcomes for a project. It also reduces the costs of projects by creating a greater understanding of the risks to a project’s costs. This has been a requirement since April 2001.

QRA is a relatively new discipline in New Zealand and, over the past few years, a small number of firms and consultants have specialised in this area. Rather than access these services on an as-required, ad-hoc basis, government agencies will now be able to access high quality, QRA services at a reduced cost from one central point from March 2008.

The State Services Commission has entered into a Master Terms of Agreement Contract with seven QRA qualified consultants to form an expert panel of preferred suppliers that will be available to government agencies for three years.

"We recognised that government departments needed to access these services in a timely and efficient manner and at a reasonable cost. Rather than individual departments tendering for QRA services, we have pooled resources. The establishment of this panel is a timely reminder to all government departments of the need to carefully manage budget risks," Laurence Millar says.

The QRA panel members for 2008-2011 were selected through a tender and interview process. They comprise:

· Dr Dale Cooper (Broadleaf Capital International NZ Limited)

· Dr Erica Seville (Azimuth Consulting Limited)

· Dr Stephen Grey (Broadleaf Capital International NZ Limited)

· Geoffrey Raymond (Broadleaf Capital International NZ Limited)

· Malcolm Lane (Lane Associates Limited)

· Michael Wood (Broadleaf Capital International NZ Limited)

· Tim Bartram (Maven International Limited)

Full release: http://www.e.govt.nz/resources/news/2008/20080228.html

ENDS

Background information about the QRA requirement is located at:

· http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/cabinet/circulars/co01/4.html

· http://www.ssc.govt.nz/display/document.asp?docid=2303

· http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/2004/RAND_WR112.pdf

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