Project Planning - the 15% weighting.
Project Planning is the smallest weighting but the easiest to lose points on. A weak programme or absent risk register flags assessor confidence concerns that pull the wider score down.
Compiled by Oliver Wakefield-Smith, founder, Digital Signet. Reviewed against ESFA Information for Applicants 2026-27 and the Condition Funding Methodology March 2026 revision.
Programme expectations
A bid-stage Gantt covering procurement, mobilisation, delivery, snagging and completion against the 31 March 2028 deadline. Detail should be appropriate to RIBA stage 2-3, not a fully-priced stage-4 programme.
Procurement narrative
The procurement route should match the project value and complexity: framework call-off below threshold, mini-competition or open procedure at threshold. The bid must name the framework or procedure.
Risk register
A pragmatic risk register with named owners, RAG status, mitigations and contingencies. Generic registers copied across bids are penalised.
Delivery confidence
Trust-side capacity to manage the project (named project manager, governance route, sign-off cadence). For trusts using consultancy support this is named and dated.