Deposit return scheme - gateway review: final report

Annex B

Purposes of the Gateway Review 0: Strategic Assessment

Gateway Review 0 Strategic Assessment is a programme-only Review that sets the programme in the wider policy or corporate context. This Review investigates the direction and planned outcomes of the programme, together with the progress of its constituent projects.

It can be applied to any type of programme, including policy and organisational change. The Review is repeated throughout the life of the programme from start-up to closure; an early Gateway Review 0 is particularly valuable in that it helps to confirm that the way forward is achievable, before plans have been finalised.

• Review the outcomes and objectives for the programme (and the way they fit together) and confirm that they make the necessary contribution to the overall strategy of the organisation and its senior management
• Ensure that the programme is supported by key stakeholders
• Confirm that the programme's potential to succeed has been considered in the wider context of Government policy and procurement objectives, the organisation's delivery plans and change programmes, and any interdependencies with other programmes or projects in the organisation's portfolio and, where relevant, those of other organisations
• Review the arrangements for leading, managing and monitoring the programme as a whole and the links to individual parts of it (for example to any existing projects in the programme's portfolio)
• Review the arrangements for identifying and managing the main programme risks (and the individual project risks), including external risks such as changing business priorities
• Check that provision for financial and other resources has been made for the programme (initially identified at programme initiation and committed later) and that plans for the work to be done through to the next stage are realistic, properly resourced with sufficient people of appropriate experience, and authorised
• After the initial Review, check progress against plans and the expected achievement of outcomes
• Check that there is engagement with the market as appropriate on the feasibility of achieving the required outcome
• Where relevant, check that the programme takes account of joining up with other programmes, internal and external
• Evaluation of actions taken to implement recommendations made in any earlier assessment of deliverability.