Quality of public investments and evaluation tools

Quality of public investments and evaluation tools
Presentation of the web application for feasibility studies “sdf.irpet.it”
By invitation only

The implementation of a public investment project is not always preceded by a specific feasibility study. Nevertheless, the legislator has urged administrations in different ways and at different times to provide themselves with appropriate pre-assessment methods and tools of cost effectiveness.
In the last decade, different guideline manuals have been released on the evaluation of public projects, both in Italy and within the EU. They address the subject at different levels and scales, but they hardly ever become operational tools in the hands of public decision makers for evaluating the financial and economic viability of proposals.
IRPET-SdF is a Web application intended to offer the public manager a clear and user-friendly instrument for the pre-feasibility analysis of public investments. It is the first example in Europe of a Web application specifically designed for feasibility studies.
This tool allows to evaluate the feasibility of projects financed with different combinations of sources, from public funding only to public-private partnership (PPP) schemes.
Following the basic approach of the manuals for drawing up feasibility studies, the Web application is organized by steps: from the description of the investment’s qualitative and quantitative characteristics to the development of demand for infrastructure-related services, the financial analysis and, finally, the returning of economic values through appropriate fiscal and market corrections.