Infastructure delivery and investment board

The Infrastructure Delivery and Investment Board (IDIB) was convened in 2022/23 to consider all infrastructure proposals. These include any estate, digital/IT and technical equipment proposals, including all capital and outside of budget revenue requests. Project proposals would then be recommended for approval to the Vice Chancellors Executive Group. This replaces the annual capital bid process.

Estates, digital and IT projects will be considered if they form part of the developing Infrastructure Masterplan and from that the Estates and IT five-year programmes.

Proposals should include:

• any changes to the physical estate including room refurbishment and change in room use,
• cyclical replacement of all IT related equipment, maintenance, and any purchase of Enterprise applications.

Guidance for completing the Project Proposal Form

1. In the first instance, colleagues are asked to discuss proposals informally with the Chief Information Officer (CIO) or the Director of Estates and Facilities (DoEF) before completing a Project Proposal Form.

2. The CIO or DoEF will confirm whether or not the project aligns with the Infrastructure Masterplan and notify the IDIB Co-ordinator accordingly.

3. Colleagues will be asked to complete a Project Proposal Form. Guidance notes on how to complete the individual sections are available on the form. All sections of the form must be completed.

4. Colleagues will be expected to:

a. Confirm the project aligns to the Transforming Bedfordshire Strategic Plan and from that, the relevant delivery strategies, and

b. Include a financial business case. Management Accounts and the Procurement Team are available to help complete this section of the form. Please note that project coding will be issued at this financial stage so please ensure this step is followed otherwise the project will not progress. The coding will not be activated until formal project approval has been received.

5. The completed Project Proposal Form should be sent to the IDIB Co-ordinator who will confirm the content with the CIO, DoEF and Chief Financial Officer (CFRO).

6. If a project proposal is under (and not including) £100k, the project will be reviewed by the CFRO. The CFRO will make the decision on whether lower value projects should be reviewed by IDIB.

7. If a project proposal is over (and including) £100k, the project will automatically be discussed at the next meeting of IDIB. There will be four meetings of IDIB each academic year. Meeting dates along with paperwork deadlines will be published each year.

8. The project lead will be expected to attend the meeting to talk through the proposal and answer any questions.

9. The IDIB Co-ordinator will ensure that successful projects are submitted to the next meeting of VCEG for approval.

10. Projects greater than £1m will follow the approval limits as set out in Appendix F of the Financial Regulations. The IDIB Co-ordinator will ensure that Project Proposals which fall into this category obtain the necessary approval.

11. Regular project updates will be expected to IDIB.