When you need it
Use when a sponsor or governing body must decide whether a project may enter its next stage. Prepare around the exact authority requested, whether further study, procurement commitment or construction expenditure.
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AI tools and documents for engineering and project management.
Investment Gate Decision Paper
Bring the evidence, remaining uncertainty and requested authority together for a defined investment gate.
How to use this templateThis Word template contains prepared headings, tables, project fields and completion notes. Add your information, review the completed document and remove the notes before issue.
The form prepares a separate brief; it does not fill the Word or Excel file.
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Learning
How to use this template
What it helps you decide
The paper brings readiness evidence and unresolved exposure into one decision record. It prevents approval for a limited investigation from being interpreted as unrestricted authority to build, spend or operate.
How to complete it
- State Decision requested with the spend boundary and period. Map each Gate criterion to reviewed Evidence and record the Readiness finding without masking missing inputs.
- Present Exposure using referenced estimates and funding assumptions. Reconcile financial figures and distinguish nominal, real and tax treatments where relevant to the underlying model.
- List each Condition and Accountable role alongside Requested authority. Keep the Decision record and signatures for the governing body's actual response, including restrictions or deferral.
Who prepares and reviews it
The project sponsor or development lead prepares it with technical, finance and risk contributors. Independent reviewers check material sources; the actual board, committee or delegated authority makes the decision within its mandate.
A mistake to avoid
Using a favourable technical recommendation as if it were the governing body's investment approval bypasses the separate decision on funding, conditions and delegated authority.
Illustrative example
Illustrative example: an owner seeks funding for detailed design of a treatment plant while land access remains unresolved. The paper links study evidence, estimate ranges and the access condition. The committee can authorize a bounded design stage and reserve the construction decision until the missing evidence is resolved.
Document contents
- Document control and decision owner
- Evidence, scope and applicability
- Decision requested
- Evidence of readiness
- Financial and delivery exposure
- Conditions and delegated authority
- Open points, competent review and decision
- Project records
- Preparation, review and approval
Required inputs
- Project / asset identity, assessment date, scope and authorized decision owner
- Verified source documents with exact revision and record locators
- Investment mandate and gate criteria
- Reviewed option appraisal and estimates
- Funding constraints and sponsor risk limits
- Open due-diligence findings and decision history
Practical tools.
Professional judgment.
Confirm the adopted edition, local amendments, National Annex where relevant, and contract requirements.
Prepare project brief