ITLS6500 Individual Assignment
Students are required to submit a report assessing the business case for Sydney Metro Greater West. Some of the areas to be reviewed include rationale, procurement strategy, risk management governance, commercial and financial structuring. Whist a strict word limit is not imposed, as a guide the report should be concise of around 2500 words. Appendices are not included in the word count. Reports need to be uploaded on canvas by 4pm on 26 May 2020. The front page must contain the following information: course code and name, student id, assignment name and date of submission. References and bibliography should follow Harvard style referencing.
A written assignment is a means of communication. You should structure it so that it is easy for the reader to understand, using paragraphs to separate points and sub- headings to highlight subject matter. Given the practical nature of this course, use of charts, tables and bullets are advised.
The final written report should include:
- An executive summary covering the key issues to be addressed, and main findings and recommendations;
- The main body of the assignment, clearly addressing each section in turn.
- A conclusion which draws all previous discussions together.
- Recommendations
- References and bibliography (Harvard style).
- Appendices of material or data used within the assignment.
Common problems in previous years which cause students to lose marks include: - Poor referencing (quantity, quality and style)
- Not relating the risks to the project in question (being too general)
- Missing obvious risks (not thinking deeply)
- Not backing up your arguments with evidence (e.g. Don’t just say “the regulations could change and affect our project” – you must say how and why and provide evidence to back this up)
- Making the report too “wordy”. Try to use tables, diagrams and bullets as far as possible.
| Criteria | Total Mark |
| Structure, grammar/spelling | 5 |
| Research (thoroughness) | 25 |
| Referencing (quality, completeness, format) | 10 |
| Coverage of main arguments (for and against) | 50 |
| Conclusion and recommendation | 10 |
| Total | 100 |
The types of questions that students are encouraged to consider include:
- Does the project have a clear rationale?
- What problem is it trying to solve?
- How does the project fit with Government’s strategic plans and priorities?
- Why should the project be progressed now?
- Is the project justified economically?
- What benefits will be delivered by the project?
- What alternatives should be considered which may also achieve the projects strategic objectives?
- What consideration is made for assessment of wider economic benefits?
- What are the key considerations in developing a proposed packaging and contracting strategy for the project?
- How can the project be disaggregated into package components and how are interface issues best managed?
- Does the private sector have the capability to deliver the project and what preferences around project and transaction structuring are needing to be considered in developing a delivery model that will attract sufficient market appetite?
- Does the public sector have the required skills and experience to manage the implementation of the project?
- Does the private sector have the potential to deliver a value for money solution and what are the potential value for money drivers?
- What contractual mechanisms can be applied to incentivise performance?
- How will the project be funded and financed? What use can be made of value capture? How can the funding/financing roles be shared between the private sector, State Government and Federal Government?
- Who are the key stakeholders and what approach to stakeholder consultation and community engagement is recommended?
- What are the key project risks and how are these to be mitigated and allocated?
- What public interest issues have been considered and how has the public responded?
- What other recent precedent projects can be identified and what lessons can be drawn from those projects and applied in this case?
- Does the project sponsor have suitable decision making and governance structures to support the procurement and delivery of the project?
- What are the lessons of experience from the previous stages of Sydney Metro and other relevant projects? Extensive information on these major projects is readily available representing the more advanced stages of delivery. For example, information on business cases, procurement strategy, risk allocation, governance can be used to illustrate how similar issues facing SMGW can be addressed.
The recommended approach is to identify and address the key and contentious issues for the project that need to be considered in the business case. Where information is not readily available, students should propose what they believe is the correct approach. Do not spend time unnecessarily paraphrasing the case study or simply restating the project description. It is recommended that students spend time researching the following projects and relevant guidance material; a list of reference material is provided below.
References
Greater Sydney Commission (2016a), Towards our Greater Sydney 2056, Infrastructure NSW, Building Momentum, State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2038,
(February
2018)
Transport for NSW, Future Transport Strategy 2056, (2018)
Transport for NSW (2012b), Sydney’s Rail Future,
Transport for NSW (2017), SMW – Project Overview, September 2017,
NSW Government, Sydney Metro, Industry Briefing, April 2018
NSW Government, Sydney Metro West, Project Overview, March 2018
NSW Government, North West Rail Link OTS PPP, Contract Summary, December 2014
NSW Government, Sydney Metro City and Southwest PPP, Final Business Case, October 2016
NSW Government, Sydney Metro, Industry Briefing, December 2018 Australian Government/NSW Government Western Sydney Rail Needs Scoping
Study Outcomes Report (March 2018)
NSW Government, Department of Planning and Environment, Western Sydney Aerotropolis, Land Use and Infrastructure Implementation Plan (August 2018)
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