Course Introduction
Government capital projects require disciplined planning to translate public policy priorities into investable, affordable, implementable, and sustainable assets and services. This course provides a practical framework for planning government capital projects from initial needs identification through project definition, feasibility, prioritisation, budgeting, implementation preparation, risk assessment, and investment decision-making.
The course examines how governments can develop credible capital project pipelines that are aligned with national development strategies, sector priorities, fiscal constraints, service-delivery requirements, and institutional capacity. Participants will learn how to identify investment needs, define project problems and objectives, assess beneficiaries, develop project concepts, compare alternatives, and establish realistic project scopes before significant public resources are committed.
A major emphasis is placed on project preparation and readiness. Participants will explore demand assessment, technical feasibility, preliminary design, cost estimation, lifecycle costing, implementation scheduling, procurement planning, land and site considerations, environmental and social requirements, institutional responsibilities, and financing arrangements. The course highlights how stronger preparation reduces avoidable delays, cost escalation, scope changes, and implementation risks.
The programme also addresses integration between capital project planning and public financial management. Participants will examine how capital projects should connect with medium-term expenditure frameworks, annual budgets, fiscal ceilings, financing strategies, operating costs, maintenance requirements, and long-term affordability. Practical approaches to prioritisation will help participants distinguish between projects that are desirable and those that are genuinely ready and sustainable for public investment.
Risk management, governance, stakeholder engagement, climate resilience, sustainability, and monitoring are integrated throughout the programme. Participants will learn how to anticipate political, institutional, technical, financial, procurement, environmental, social, and implementation risks and incorporate appropriate mitigation measures into project planning. The course also considers how digital tools and data can improve capital project preparation and decision-making.
The course concludes with practical approaches for preparing investment-ready capital project proposals and credible implementation plans. Participants will develop stronger capabilities to structure project concepts, assess readiness, prepare realistic budgets and schedules, establish governance arrangements, manage risks, and communicate investment cases effectively to decision-makers while supporting better value for public resources.
Duration
5 days
Who Should Attend
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Government capital project managers responsible for planning, preparing, coordinating, or supervising public investment projects
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Planning officers responsible for developing government capital investment programmes and project pipelines
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Finance and budget officials involved in capital budgeting, expenditure planning, fiscal analysis, and investment prioritisation
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Public sector economists supporting capital project feasibility, investment analysis, and project selection
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Infrastructure and technical specialists involved in project preparation, design, feasibility, costing, and implementation planning
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Ministry and government agency officials responsible for developing sector-based capital investment proposals
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Local and subnational government officials managing capital investment planning and public infrastructure programmes
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Public investment management professionals responsible for project screening, appraisal, readiness, and portfolio development
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Procurement and contract management professionals involved in preparing government capital projects for implementation
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Monitoring, evaluation, and performance professionals supporting capital project planning and investment oversight
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Development partners and development-finance professionals supporting government capital investment programmes
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Consultants and advisers providing project preparation, feasibility, investment planning, or public sector infrastructure advisory services
Course Objectives
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Develop practical capabilities to plan government capital projects from initial investment needs through project definition, feasibility, prioritisation, budgeting, readiness assessment, and implementation preparation.
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Align capital project proposals with national development strategies, sector priorities, public service requirements, institutional mandates, fiscal constraints, and long-term government investment objectives.
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Apply systematic approaches to needs assessment, problem definition, beneficiary analysis, demand forecasting, project identification, and objective setting before committing substantial public resources.
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Develop robust project concepts that clearly define scope, outputs, outcomes, implementation requirements, preliminary costs, timelines, institutional responsibilities, risks, and expected public value.
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Strengthen project preparation through technical feasibility assessment, options analysis, preliminary design, cost estimation, lifecycle costing, procurement planning, and implementation-readiness analysis.
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Integrate capital project planning with medium-term expenditure frameworks, annual budgets, fiscal ceilings, financing arrangements, operating expenditures, maintenance requirements, and long-term affordability.
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Apply transparent project prioritisation and readiness criteria to develop credible capital investment pipelines and determine which projects should proceed to detailed appraisal and implementation.
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Identify and manage technical, financial, institutional, procurement, environmental, social, political, climate, and implementation risks during the capital project planning process.
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Strengthen stakeholder engagement, governance, coordination, communication, and decision-making arrangements required to prepare complex capital projects across government institutions and affected communities.
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Prepare investment-ready capital project proposals and implementation plans that support sound investment decisions, realistic budgeting, effective delivery, sustainable asset management, and improved public value.
Comprehensive Course Outline
Module 1: Foundations of Government Capital Project Planning
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Understanding the purpose, principles, lifecycle, and institutional role of government capital project planning within public investment management.
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Examining the relationship between capital projects, national development strategies, sector plans, public service delivery, fiscal policy, and government investment priorities.
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Distinguishing capital project planning from project appraisal, budgeting, procurement, implementation management, and post-completion evaluation.
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Identifying common planning weaknesses that contribute to poor project selection, unrealistic budgets, implementation delays, cost escalation, and weak sustainability.
Module 2: Needs Assessment, Problem Definition, and Project Identification
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Conducting structured needs assessments to identify infrastructure gaps, service deficiencies, population needs, economic constraints, and public investment priorities.
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Defining project problems clearly and distinguishing root causes from symptoms to ensure that capital investments address genuine public needs.
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Analysing beneficiaries, demand patterns, service requirements, geographic coverage, socioeconomic conditions, and expected changes in demand over time.
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Developing project concepts that clearly connect identified needs with proposed interventions, expected results, strategic priorities, and public value.
Module 3: Strategic Alignment and Capital Investment Prioritisation
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Aligning proposed capital projects with national development plans, sector strategies, government policies, regional priorities, and institutional mandates.
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Establishing transparent criteria for assessing strategic relevance, public value, urgency, feasibility, affordability, readiness, risk, and expected development impact.
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Developing capital investment pipelines that distinguish between project concepts, projects under preparation, investment-ready projects, ongoing projects, and completed investments.
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Applying prioritisation methods to manage competing capital investment demands within limited fiscal resources and institutional implementation capacity.
Module 4: Project Preparation, Feasibility, and Options Analysis
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Developing project preparation requirements covering feasibility studies, demand analysis, technical assessments, preliminary designs, cost estimates, and implementation arrangements.
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Comparing technical, operational, geographic, institutional, and delivery alternatives before selecting a preferred capital investment solution.
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Applying lifecycle thinking to assess capital costs, operating costs, maintenance requirements, replacement needs, asset performance, and long-term sustainability.
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Establishing project readiness criteria that ensure major investment proposals are sufficiently prepared before entering detailed appraisal, budgeting, procurement, or implementation.
Module 5: Capital Costing, Budgeting, and Financial Planning
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Developing realistic capital cost estimates covering construction, equipment, professional services, land, taxes, contingencies, escalation, and other project-related expenditures.
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Integrating capital project requirements with medium-term expenditure frameworks, annual budgets, fiscal ceilings, financing strategies, and cash-flow planning.
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Assessing lifecycle financial implications including operations, maintenance, staffing, utilities, asset renewal, and other recurrent costs generated by new capital investments.
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Managing financing assumptions, funding gaps, external financing, grants, borrowing, counterpart funding, and other sources of capital project resources.
Module 6: Implementation Planning, Procurement, and Governance
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Developing realistic implementation schedules covering design, approvals, procurement, contracting, construction, commissioning, handover, and operational readiness.
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Establishing procurement strategies and contract packaging approaches that reflect project complexity, market conditions, institutional capacity, and implementation timelines.
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Defining governance structures, roles, decision rights, reporting responsibilities, coordination arrangements, and escalation mechanisms for capital project delivery.
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Assessing implementation capacity and establishing practical measures for strengthening project management, technical supervision, procurement capability, and institutional coordination.
Module 7: Risk, Environmental, Social, and Climate Considerations
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Identifying technical, financial, procurement, institutional, political, environmental, social, security, and implementation risks during project preparation.
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Developing risk registers, mitigation measures, contingency arrangements, risk ownership, escalation procedures, and monitoring mechanisms for capital investment projects.
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Integrating environmental and social considerations into project planning, including community impacts, land requirements, inclusion, stakeholder concerns, and mitigation responsibilities.
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Assessing climate exposure, resilience requirements, disaster risks, environmental sustainability, and long-term asset performance under changing climate conditions.
Module 8: Stakeholder Engagement, Coordination, and Decision-Making
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Mapping government institutions, communities, service users, private-sector actors, development partners, regulators, and other stakeholders affected by proposed capital investments.
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Establishing effective consultation and engagement approaches that strengthen project legitimacy, identify implementation concerns, and improve stakeholder ownership.
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Managing inter-ministerial and inter-agency coordination where capital projects require multiple approvals, technical inputs, financing sources, or implementation responsibilities.
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Developing decision-making and communication arrangements that enable timely escalation, resolution of planning issues, and transparent investment governance.
Module 9: Project Readiness, Quality Assurance, and Investment Approval
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Establishing comprehensive project readiness assessments covering feasibility, design, costing, financing, procurement, safeguards, institutional capacity, risk, and implementation arrangements.
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Applying quality assurance and independent review processes to challenge assumptions, validate estimates, identify gaps, and strengthen capital project proposals.
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Preparing investment cases and approval documentation that clearly communicate project rationale, alternatives, costs, benefits, risks, financing, implementation requirements, and expected results.
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Developing decision criteria for approving, modifying, deferring, redesigning, or rejecting capital projects based on evidence, affordability, readiness, strategic importance, and public value.
Module 10: Emerging Issues and the Future of Government Capital Project Planning
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Examining how climate change, urbanisation, demographic growth, fiscal pressures, technological disruption, and infrastructure deficits are reshaping government capital investment priorities.
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Exploring artificial intelligence, data analytics, digital twins, geospatial technologies, remote sensing, and digital project information systems for stronger capital project preparation.
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Integrating green infrastructure, climate-resilient assets, circular economy principles, energy efficiency, sustainable materials, and lifecycle carbon considerations into capital project planning.
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Developing future-ready government capital project planning systems that strengthen transparency, resilience, innovation, fiscal discipline, asset sustainability, and long-term public value.
Training Approach
This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.
Tailor-Made Course
This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808
Training Venue
The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.
Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant
Certification
Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.
Airport Pickup and Accommodation
Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808
Terms of Payment:
Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.
