Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon

Programme Overview

Sound capital budgeting demands robust analytical techniques and clear prioritisation mechanisms to ensure scarce public funds yield maximum socioeconomic returns. This five-day executive programme in Lisbon provides public sector specialists with practical competencies in public investment management. Participants master rigorous project appraisal tools, multi-criteria decision frameworks, and screening systems required to evaluate complex infrastructure and social sector proposals before resource allocation. The curriculum bridges technical appraisal methods and strategic capital expenditure programming.

Delegates will examine international standards for project preparation, appraisal, and capital budget prioritisation endorsed by multilateral development institutions such as the World Bank and African Development Bank. The training focuses on socio-economic cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness assessment, demand forecasting, and project gatekeeping. Participants explore how to establish transparent evaluation hurdles that align proposed capital schemes with national development strategies, medium-term expenditure frameworks, and fiscal sustainability ceilings, minimising cost overruns and implementation delays.

Delivered through interactive workshops and practical case reviews, the course addresses the operational realities of resource-constrained public administrations. Working through applied exercises, participants learn to build institutional project appraisal guidelines, draft objective project scoring models, and configure capital project databases. By the conclusion of the programme, public officials will be equipped to safeguard public investments, screen out sub-optimal projects, and present credible, evidence-based capital investment pipelines to external development partners and national budget authorities.

Public administrations face persistent challenges in translating national development strategies into viable, well-sequenced capital projects amidst severe fiscal constraints. The need for systematic appraisal and transparent project selection is reinforced by major institutional reforms, including the portfolio commitments under the Guinea-Bissau Public Sector Strengthening Project II (US$20m). To secure value for money and satisfy development partner standards across externally assisted portfolios, ministries must operationalise objective gatekeeping protocols, mitigate fiscal risks, and end the fragmentation between capital planning and budget execution.

Delivered by Risalat Consultants International in Lisbon, Portugal, it combines expert-led sessions, real cases and group work, so that participants can apply what they learn in their own institution.

The Programme Strengthens Institutional Capability

• Core principles of public investment management systems and diagnostic assessments
• Strategic alignment: Mapping capital proposals to national development goals
• The project cycle: Concept development, pre-feasibility, and formal registration
• Establishing the gateway process: Stage-gate filters and institutional roles
• Exercise: Designing a preliminary project screening filter for sector submissions
• Capital expenditure forecasting and full life-cycle costing techniques
• Financial analysis: Discount rates, net present value, and internal rate of return
• Assessing recurrent cost implications and budget absorptive capacity
• Budget preparation and execution
• Financial reporting and accounting standards
• Cash and treasury management
• Internal control over payments and assets

It is designed for ministry of finance planning officials and capital budget directors, public investment management department analysts, national planning commission appraisal officers and others who want practical, current skills in public financial management and finance.

The Growing Importance of Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon

Sound financial management is the basis for credible budgets, timely payments and clean audits. Governments and financiers expect accurate reporting, disciplined budget execution and transparent use of funds.

Changes in reporting standards, digital payment systems and financier requirements mean finance teams must keep their skills current. Strong financial management also frees time and money for the services that matter.

Organisations increasingly require professionals capable of:

• Prepare and execute budgets in line with plans
• Produce accurate, timely financial reports
• Apply controls over payments and assets
• Meet financier financial management requirements
• Use financial information to support decisions

Strong public financial management and finance systems help organisations:

• Improve budget credibility and execution
• Produce reliable reports and clean audits
• Reduce payment delays and errors
• Build trust with financiers and oversight bodies

This Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon programme brings these elements together in a practical format, so that participants understand not only what good practice looks like but also how to introduce it in their own setting, with the people and resources they have.

Who Should Attend This Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon Training?

This programme is designed for:

• Ministry of finance planning officials and capital budget directors
• Public investment management department analysts
• National planning commission appraisal officers
• Sector ministry project preparation and planning teams
• Central bank macroeconomic and fiscal risk analysts
• Project implementation unit directors handling donor-financed portfolios
• Regional and municipal infrastructure planning coordinators
• State-owned enterprise capital expenditure controllers
• Parliamentary budget office and public accounts technical advisers
• Finance managers and accountants
• Budget officers and analysts
• Treasury and cash management staff

The programme suits experienced professionals as well as those moving into new responsibilities. Groups that mix institutions and countries are encouraged, because participants learn a great deal from each other’s experience.

Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon Training Objectives

Upon successful completion of this Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon Training, participants will be able to:

• Apply international public investment management standards across the project preparation and screening cycle
• Execute rigorous financial and economic cost-benefit analyses for major public capital proposals
• Implement cost-effectiveness and multi-criteria decision analysis for social sector investments lacking direct financial revenues
• Establish structured gatekeeping mechanisms and formal review hurdles to prevent unappraised projects entering the budget
• Formulate robust project selection and scoring criteria aligned with medium-term expenditure frameworks
• Identify and quantify fiscal risks, lifecycle maintenance requirements, and contingent liabilities within project proposals
• Integrate approved sector projects into a credible multi-year national public investment programme pipeline
• Explain the budget cycle and the role of each actor
• Prepare and monitor budgets linked to plans
• Apply the main principles of the relevant reporting standards

Each objective is practised during the programme through exercises, cases or group work, so that participants leave able to do it, not only to describe it.

Programme Contents and Structure

Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon Training Methodology

The training employs an applied, practitioner-focused pedagogical methodology combining technical lectures, financial modelling labs, and collaborative syndicate exercises. Participants work with real-world sector investment proposals, testing assumptions using spreadsheet models and institutional evaluation rubrics. Structured peer exchanges allow officials to evaluate diverse institutional setups, while guided simulation clinics enable teams to draft appraisal guidelines and multi-criteria scoring frameworks adaptable to their sovereign budget environments.

The programme combines:

• Expert-led sessions on current practice
• Regional and international case studies
• Group work and practical exercises
• Simulations and role plays where relevant
• Discussion of participants' own challenges
• Peer learning across institutions and countries
• Practical tools and templates to take back to work
• Daily reflection and action planning

Before the programme, a short pre-assessment helps the facilitators understand each participant’s role and priorities, so that examples and exercises can be adjusted to the group. Each day ends with a short reflection in which participants note what they will apply at work.

Expected Outcomes

Upon completion of this Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon Training, participants will be able to:

• Operate formal project appraisal tools to verify the technical and economic viability of capital schemes
• Construct comprehensive cash-flow and socio-economic models utilizing appropriate shadow prices and social discount rates
• Enforce systematic stage-gate filters to eliminate unsound or politically driven proposals prior to budget consideration
• Formulate transparent, weighted multi-criteria prioritisation matrices to rank competitive sector investment projects
• Calculate multi-year operation and maintenance cost impacts for seamless integration into medium-term budget ceilings
• Deploy standardised project concept notes and gatekeeping guidelines across line ministries and project delivery units
• Prepare and monitor budgets linked to plans
• Produce accurate financial reports

Participants leave with a personal action plan and practical tools they can use in their institution from the first week back. Institutions that send several participants can use the programme to agree shared methods and templates across teams, which makes improvements easier to sustain.

Institutional Application of Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon Training

This programme supports organisations in strengthening:

• Budget preparation and execution
• Financial reporting
• Payment and cash controls
• Donor financial management
• Audit readiness

Participants return with practical tools to improve:

• Budget monitoring
• Interim financial reports
• Reconciliations
• Asset management
• Audit follow-up

The programme is built so that learning moves from the classroom into the institution. Participants work on their own processes and documents where possible, and leave with an action plan that their managers can review and support.

Regional Relevance & Application

Europe

European institutions apply public financial management and finance within detailed regulatory frameworks and reform agendas. Participants from Europe can compare their practice with colleagues from other regions and test how established methods work under different conditions.

Africa

Across Africa, ministries, agencies and project teams working in public financial management and finance increasingly operate alongside donor-financed programmes that expect clear systems and evidence. The programme helps participants adapt good practice to the institutions and resources they work with.

Middle East

In the Middle East, national development strategies and diversification plans place growing demands on public financial management and finance. Participants explore how to build the capability these plans need inside public bodies and companies.

Asia

Institutions across Asia combine rapid growth with ambitious modernisation programmes. Participants from Asia can share their experience of scaling systems quickly and learn from approaches used elsewhere.

Pacific

Small island and Pacific states face particular constraints of size, distance and capacity. The programme highlights practical, proportionate approaches to public financial management and finance that suit smaller institutions.

Holding the programme in Lisbon, Portugal brings participants together away from their daily pressures, so they can compare how public financial management and finance is handled in different settings. The same programme can also be delivered in-house for one institution, in its own country or online, with cases taken from its current work.

Host Country Profile – Portugal

Training programmes and study tours in Lisbon suit professionals focusing on public sector governance, maritime affairs, renewable energy, and urban administration. Delegates attend from across Europe, North Africa, and Portuguese-speaking nations in Africa and South America.

Studying away from their own country gives participants time to focus, a fresh view of their own institution and the chance to build a network with colleagues from other countries.

Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon Training Deliverables

Participants receive support before, during and after the programme, so that preparation, learning and follow-up form one continuous experience.

Before the Programme

• Participant Pre-Assessment
• Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon Readiness Assessment
• Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon Resource Pack
• Preparatory Reading Materials
• Complimentary Visa Support & Advisory

During the Programme

• Airport Pickup & Welcome Assistance
• Accommodation with Breakfast
• Welcome Networking Dinner
• Risalat Training Kit (Bag, Bottle, Mug, T-Shirt, Cap, Passport Cover, Pens, Notebook, Magnet & Keychain)
• Comprehensive Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon Training Manual
• Budget Monitoring Template
• Interim Financial Report Template
• Reconciliation Checklist
• Audit Preparation Checklist
• Practical Workshops & Simulations
• Group Discussions & Peer Learning
• Daily Lunch and Refreshments
• Full Access to Training Venue Facilities
• Mini Pad / Tablet with Digital Learning Materials
• Field Visit (where applicable)
• Entertaining City Tour

After the Programme

• Certificate of Completion
• Risalat Programme Participation Recognition Award
• Post-Training Reference Materials
• Financial Management Self-Assessment
• Payment Control Checklist
• Post-Training Support & Follow-Up Guidance
• Programme Report

Institutions can also request a tailored in-house version of this programme, delivered at their premises or online. Request a proposal.

Common Challenges in Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon, And How This Training Helps

How can institutions prepare and execute budgets in line with plans?

The programme addresses this directly on the first day (Public Investment Management Frameworks and Strategic Project Screening), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions produce accurate, timely financial reports?

The programme addresses this directly on the second day (Financial Appraisal, Cost Estimation, and Fiscal Sustainability), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions apply controls over payments and assets?

The programme addresses this directly on the third day (Economic Appraisal and Socio-Economic Impact Assessment), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions meet financier financial management requirements?

The programme addresses this directly on the fourth day (Risk Analysis, Climate Resilience, and Multi-Criteria Prioritisation), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions use financial information to support decisions?

The programme addresses this directly on the fifth day (Capital Budget Prioritisation and Pipeline Management), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where does the Public Investment Project Appraisal and Capital Budget Prioritisation in Lisbon programme take place?

It runs from 19 Jul 2027 to 23 Jul 2027, in Lisbon, Portugal. The registration deadline is shown at the top of this page.

Who should attend?

The programme is designed for ministry of finance planning officials and capital budget directors, public investment management department analysts, national planning commission appraisal officers, sector ministry project preparation and planning teams, and others who want practical skills in public financial management and finance.

Will I receive a certificate?

Yes. Participants who complete the programme receive a Certificate of Completion from Risalat Consultants International.

Can this programme be delivered for our institution only?

Yes. We can deliver a tailored in-house version at your premises, in another city or online, built around your own cases. Use the proposal request on this page.

Do I need prior experience in public financial management and finance?

No specialist background is required beyond experience in a related role. A short pre-assessment helps the facilitators adapt the sessions to the group.

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