EPEC Guide to Public-Private Partnerships. European Investment Bank, 2021.

The Five Case Model is an analytical framework that can be used by the contracting authority to assist with decision-making during the project identification, project preparation and procurement phases of a project. It is a tool that can be used for both PPP projects and  traditional infrastructure procurement projects. It separates the project identification, preparation and procurement processes into five key dimensions, or ‘cases’. Each of these five cases is continually developed and assessed over the project cycle, namely:
1. The ‘strategic’ case: This establishes the rationale for the project; how it relates to needs and wider strategies; the project’s scope, boundaries, objectives and outputs; and the project’s environmental and social risks and opportunities.

2. The ‘economic’ case: This establishes the justification for the choice of project to deliver the agreed objectives, in terms of benefits and costs. This should be done by considering a wide range of options, which are then turned into a shortlist and a ‘preferred project option’. This also includes justifying the project delivery option (in other words, should it be delivered as a PPP project or as a traditional infrastructure procurement project), based on a value-for-money analysis.

3. The ‘commercial’ case: This establishes the capacity on the supply side (including equity shareholders, lenders, and the contractors to be hired by the project company) to deliver the project. It examines the best way to engage market participants, including using market soundings to test the viability of the proposed PPP contract; the allocation of risks; and the procurement strategy.

4. The ‘affordability’ case (also known as the ‘financial’ case): This establishes the expected capital investment and operating costs and, in the case of a PPP project, the expected long-term funding sources to pay for these costs (by means of government payments, or end-user payments, or a combination of both), and whether these costs meet the test of affordability. This includes ensuring that the contracting authority has adequate long-term budgets available, as necessary, and that allowances have been made for risk management, monitoring and unexpected events over the life of the project.

5. The ‘management’ case: This establishes the capacity, capability and organisation of the contracting authority to manage the delivery of the project. This includes ensuring that the right skills and experience and governance structures are in place at the right time; that there is a realistic plan and timetable for managing the process, including plans for stakeholder engagement; and that there is capacity to manage the risks and ensure the benefits of the project.