Nicky Harkin, CEO, Arch North East

I think the tool could be a really good way of demonstrating partnership inputs to multi-agency initiatives such as the MARAC, and would be useful for specialist support services and other voluntary sector partners to highlight their contributions to these processes.  The Tool provides a really useful template for identifying full cost recovery on project costs and we will use it when costing out future bids and initiatives.

Part 1 of the Cost Benefit Tool aims to help users to organise costs to include a variety of factors such as personnel time, equipment purchases, materials used (e.g., fuel) and additional expenses (e.g., insurance or maintenance costs).  It also helps by classifying costs as direct (e.g., salaries for project staff) or indirect (e.g., administration) and identifies intangible costs (e.g., reduction in productivity due to the extra demands of the new intervention). 

Users can also use the spreadsheet to insert upper and lower estimates where only approximate or national costs are available or intangible cost estimates are used.

Lee Fryatt, Inspector, Criminal Justice and Investigations, Hampshire Constabulary

….the workshop and the cost benefit tool have the potential to help police forces be more objective in providing a more robust evidence base for new and ongoing projects in terms of ensuring any investment provides value for money. This is a key requirement in times of diminishing public funds and the drive for continuing police efficiency.

The Tool also allows users to make a comparison of costs prior to the intervention being implemented (i.e. the status quo or costs in absence of the intervention) and after the intervention.  The Cost-Benefit Tool will calculate the amount of savings made by avoiding the crime.

Fiona Murray, Development Manager, Dorset Police and the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner

By using cost benefit analysis tools like this, commissioners can become more informed about which interventions may deliver greater benefits that result in financial savings for the police and partners.  This is particularly important for Police and Crime Commissioners who are interested in jointly commissioning services with health or local authority partners, because identifying potential savings for the police and partners can help commissioners work out who should contribute what.

Bob Bunney, Crime Reduction Lead Officer, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall Police Alliance

The Costing Tool offers the opportunity to determine costs of projects to support bids, replicate interventions (or upscale them) and forecast savings.