Introduction
You have thought up a great new idea for implementing flexible learning which will have great benefits for you and your organisation. You are enthusiastic about the idea and you take the idea to your boss. The boss says “show me the business case” or “Show me the cost/benefit analysis”. (translated: Show me the money, the famous line from the 1996 movie “Jerry Maguire”) Where do you start? If you are lucky, your organisation will have a proforma for developing a business plan for just this purpose. If not, make use of the Flexible Learning Business Planning Framework resource.It is a 1Mb PDF file and so will take some time to download on a slow modem. This paper describes how you might use this resource to develop a business case for a new flexible learning project.
What is business planning?
Business planning is not rocket science, which only a few highly trained people can do. It simply involves following a process to determine if an idea is practical, cost effective and can actually be implemented. The fields of flexible learning and e-learning are dotted with stories of unsuccessful projects – the development of a business plan for many of these projects would have saved a lot of pain and heartache. Business planning involves identifying answers to questions to like:
- What is the market for this idea?
- What are the benefits? Can the benefits be quantified?
- Do we have the capability to implement the idea? If not, how do we get the knowledge and skills to implement the idea?
It is fairly normal these days that if you want your organisation to spend money (e.g. For developing some online content), you will need to develop a business case.
How does the Flexible Learning Business Planning Framework help?
The Flexible Learning Business Planning Framework provides a structured approach to developing a business case by asking a series of questions. It does not provide a ready made business case which you can then adjust. You still need to do the work of answering the questions for your specific flexible learning project idea.
You could read the complete 35 page Framework document. Alternatively, you might want to go straight to section 2, starting on page 16. This section is divided into four parts, covering the critical areas that need to be considered in developing a business case:
- Market Appraisal and Knowledge - Considers the market’s attractiveness and fit
- Needs & Capability Appraisal - Considers the markets needs and the Training Providers ability to service the market
- Benefits & Risk Appraisal - Considers the associated benefits and risks
- Community & Financial Appraisal - Considers the likely community and financial returns
A typical question in this section is “Describe the intended market for the Idea?”
I have used this guide when developing business cases for several projects both when I worked for a TAFE provider and in my current position at St John Ambulance Australia. In my experience, it is a good idea to work with someone else from your organisation in developing answers to each of the questions as they can offer different perspectives on the questions. You do not have to answer yes to every question but you do need to consider each question. Also, it is important to be realistic in answering the questions. For example, in answering the question about the intended market, there is no point answering “everyone in the world”. Whilst you might think you have the optimal answer, getting to a worldwide market is extremely difficult and costly. It is better to start small and identify a market that builds upon learners in your region.
In developing the answers to the questions, keep in mind that you are not doing this as an academic exercise. You are doing it to develop a document that will be submitted to the decision makers in your organisation. As in any communication activity, think about the people who will read your document and select the material you will include accordingly. It is important to include enough material to demonstrate that you have considered all key aspects of implementing your idea. If you know that some of the decision makers are impressed by figures and graphs, include them. Also, you will probably not include every detailed piece of information you collect in researching the answers to the questions.
If you are a person who does not normally work with numbers and draw up budgets, you might find the Financial Appraisal section challenging. The best idea is to find someone who can help you with completing this section – it could be your business manager or finance manager. They may be able to provide specific examples that have worked in your organisation as well as specific costings. For example, if you are going to be involved in developing flexible content, you need to know how much your organisation identifies as your costs (it is not just your salary). Also, be realistic in your figures, particularly in estimating amount of income.
Similarly, you may not have much experience in identifying markets and being able to answer the questions on Market Appraisal and Knowledge. In this case, talk to the marketing section in your organisation and get some assistance in developing the answers. This has the added advantage of making them aware of what you are planning to do and enlisting their support for the promotion of your flexible learning solution once you have developed it.
I would also suggest that you look at the questions in section 3 “Promoting and Developing the Solution”. In my experience, most decision makers will want to see a project plan showing the timeline for the development of the flexible learning solution. The completion of the project plan will also require you to identify a realistic timeline and the stages that need to be completed.
Conclusion
This short paper has hopefully convinced you that developing a business plan is not a difficult undertaking – it just requires researching and answering a set of questions. Pages 9 to 12 of the document provide an example of how to apply all the steps in completing a business case. The following resources available in the Australian Flexible Learning Community can also assist with specific aspects of developing a business case:
Other useful articles are:
