David Worsley

David worked for Network Rail for 14 years. He spent half of that period in the Project Risk & Value Management team, and five years in strategic planning, where he undertook the economic analysis intended to show that projects would yield high value for money by generating demand and benefits sufficient to justify their costs. Since moving into private consultancy with WSP in 2016, David has been able to combine these interests, continuing to undertake appraisals for railway projects, but also acting as risk manager for large multi-modal planning projects, such as Transport for the North's Strategic Development Corridors. David has been a Visiting Lecturer at Newcastle University's Centre for Railway Research since 2013. He is a full member of the Association for Project Management and the Institute of Value Management, and a fellow of the Institute of Risk Management and the Strategic Planning Society.

Synopsis: Project Business Cases, Strategy and Risk

Major capital investments usually require a detailed business case, explaining how the project’s social and economic benefits will justify the use of the funder’s resources. This allows strategic decision-makers to choose between competing options. The process of assembling a business case is however a sub-project in itself. David will use examples from transport to argue that project risk managers need to be aware of both the risks to the proposed investment (including that it will not perform its intended function effectively) and the risks to the business case process; projects which could have benefitted society may stall in development if these latter risks are not managed well.