FCERM business case templates
Business case templates for local authorities and internal drainage boards (IDBs) to support flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) capital grant claims.
Documents
Details
Risk Management Authorities (RMAs), including local authorities and internal drainage boards (IDBs), must prepare a business case when seeking capital grant funding for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) projects. These business cases set out:
- the need for the project
- the options considered
- the costs and benefits of the proposed investment
- how the project will be managed, delivered and assured
Business case templates are used to ensure that all FCERM projects present a 5-case business case that follows a consistent structure and meet the Environment Agency’s assurance requirements. These templates support RMAs in developing robust, evidence‑based submissions for funding approval.
Available business case templates
You should use the templates on this page when preparing FCERM project business cases. You should select a template based on the appraisal type you have used for your project.
The templates available are:
- Fulfil legal obligations – for projects seeking to fulfil a legal obligation using a cost-effective analysis
- Sustain standard of service – where your project is seeking to sustain the current standard of service through a cost-effective analysis (note, this appraisal type and template are limited to projects under £3m)
- Supported change – where your project is supported by an approved FCRM strategy
- Simple change – A comprehensive template used for all FCERM capital projects, regardless of project value
- SuDS programme business case – you should use this template if you are developing a project using the surface water investment model (SWIM)
If you are looking for a business case template for; complex change, natural flood management or property flood resilience projects contact us directly at: FCRM_investment@environment-agency,gov.uk.
These templates reflect the latest updates to FCERM appraisal guidance and replace earlier versions, including the former outline, long- and short‑form business case templates for FCRM projects.
Updates to this page
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Updated the page with 5 new business case templates and supporting text to explain when to use these business cases.
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Removed 'Outline Business Case Template for non-EA Risk Management Authorities' because the template has now been superseded by those hosted on Supporting Flood and Coast Projects SharePoint site.
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Amended title to suit content
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Changed title and updated details on how to request access to business case templates.
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Updated to replace the current template with the new simple or supported change template type.
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The Environment Agency Assurance and Technical Approval section updated to include confirmation that a record of the assurance is appended to the business case.
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Removed the business case template and short form business case template. Replaced with one business case template that must be used regardless of project value.
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Change to formatting of approval history sheet to conform with EA Financial Scheme of Delegation.
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Corrected error in the FSoD cover sheet of the short form business case template.
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Updated Short form business case.
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The business case templates for project appraisal reports have been updated. This is the new format for providing business cases in support of a flood risk capital grant claim.
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First published.