It’s time to roll up my sleeves and get writing. I’ve a business case to create and my own high expectations to meet.
 
My dream is to create something that will woo and wow the powers that be so they approve all this redesign work we’ve been up to and my stroke service improvement project goes live.
 
My organisation has a business case template. It’s a big document that provides guidance for the writer of the case, ensuring due process and consistency for all service developments. I do recall that I wholeheartedly supported the creation of it. I get a copy, and armed with a mug of tea I sit down to read through the document and then get on with the literary task.
 
An hour or so later I am in a whirl. Just how much have I got to write up to get my proposal approved? I mean it’s already taken the core project group hours to develop a new pathway and revised model of care. Even more have been spent on ensuring that all our stakeholders have been included in the work carried out – introductions, diagnostic work, challenging and agreeing outputs at each major milestone. Now I have got to explain it all in a coherent way to prove that it makes sense to people who haven’t been involved in the project in any great detail until now.
 
Ok I get all that and I agree, with day job in mind, that it absolutely should be done, and to this level of detail. The thing that strikes me though is just how tricky this is going to be. So imagine, if the director of finance is a little phased by it, how must others in my organisation feel about completion of such a weighty document that could be the make or break of their last several months work?
 
I get down to wondering where I am going to get some of the information that’s required. Although because of the process I have followed, a lot of it can be cut and pasted from other evidence gathered to date, some of it I haven’t thought of until this moment. I capture the point about needing to revisit my redesign process so that I can build in those extra snippets that have sprung out at me.

But then perhaps more importantly I also make a note to find out just how much writing business case training we have given to those charged with such activities – those armed with only the guidance document in hand. Have we done the organisational development properly or just ticked the box? I hear the motto, you reap what you sow…