Public investment is among the most powerful tools a government has for building roads, hospitals, power plants and schools, yet it is also among the most error-prone. Projects enter the budget without proper appraisal, optimistic costs and demand forecasts go unchallenged, and political pressure crowds out the economically strongest options. The result is stalled works, cost overruns, stranded assets and mounting arrears, often at a time when fiscal room is narrow and borrowing costs are high.

The Public Investment Management, Project Appraisal and Portfolio Prioritisation Training Course addresses the full chain over two weeks. Participants first study the stages of public investment management, institutional arrangements and the standards that good systems share. They then master appraisal techniques: needs and options analysis, cost and demand estimation, financial viability, cost-benefit analysis, risk and sensitivity assessment, and the treatment of environmental, social, gender and climate effects. In the second week the focus turns to selection and portfolio decisions: project screening, multi-criteria ranking, affordability, programme sequencing, procurement readiness, public-private partnership assessment and the management of contingent liabilities.

Later days follow projects into delivery, covering project management, cost and schedule control, monitoring dashboards, completion and post-implementation evaluation. Throughout, participants work with spreadsheet models and realistic project files. The final two days are devoted to an integrated portfolio exercise in which teams appraise, rank and present a pipeline to a simulated investment committee.

By the end of the ten days, participants will be able to:

• Describe the stages of the public investment management cycle and the institutions that support each one.
• Prepare project concept notes and options analyses that justify a public intervention.
• Estimate costs, benefits and demand with transparent assumptions.
• Carry out financial and economic cost-benefit analysis, including discounting and shadow pricing.
• Apply sensitivity, scenario and risk analysis to test project robustness.
• Screen and rank projects using multi-criteria analysis against fiscal and strategic priorities.
• Link the investment pipeline to the medium-term budget and affordability limits.
• Establish monitoring, cost control and post-completion evaluation arrangements.

The programme is designed for those who prepare, appraise, select or oversee public projects, including:

• Officers in planning and finance ministries and public investment units
• Line ministry project and programme managers
• County, state and local government planners
• Economists and cost-benefit analysts
• Public procurement and contract managers
• Internal and external auditors of capital projects
• Parliamentary and assembly committee staff
• Staff of development banks and partner agencies
• PPP unit officers and infrastructure specialists

Participants leave the programme with:

• A cost-benefit analysis spreadsheet they can adapt to their sector.
• A project screening and appraisal checklist for proposals reaching their desk.
• A multi-criteria scoring framework for ranking projects.
• A sensitivity and risk table for a sample investment.
• A PPP screening checklist and fiscal risk summary.
• A monitoring dashboard layout for tracking cost, time and results.
• A pipeline prioritisation proposal ready to discuss with colleagues.

The ten days alternate analytical technique with applied work. Delivery combines:

• Spreadsheet laboratories for financial and economic appraisal
• Project files drawn from transport, energy, water, health and education
• Group exercises in screening, ranking and PPP assessment
• A simulated investment committee with challenge from peers
• Case discussions of stalled and over-budget projects
• Individual coaching on the closing action plan

Participants who attend the ten days and complete the appraisal exercises and the portfolio presentation will be awarded a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion by Vision Reach Global Consultancy.

It certifies completed training and is not a professional engineering or economics licence.