The Gateway Review Process (GRP) is part of a broader Gateway initiative endorsed by the Victorian Government in March 2003. The initiative is a project management/development framework with three underlying objectives:
reduce budget/time overruns and scope changes in the delivery of initiatives by departments;
improve alignment of initiatives with government strategic objectives and departmental corporate plans; and
better assessment of portfolio initiatives across government (‘joined-up government’).
Applying to major capital investments across the General Government sector, the Gateway Initiative consists of:
a multi-year strategy with a long-term view (5-10 years) of general Government sector asset investment projects or initiatives – aligned with the Victorian Government’s strategic objectives;
development of consistent general Government sector project lifecycle guidance, with an initial focus on preparing better business cases to support asset investment proposals;
independent Gateway Reviews built around six key decision points in a project’s lifecycle, with the aim of assuring successful project delivery; and
reporting focused on exceptions – identifying issues early enough to keep projects on track or get them back on track.
Evidence suggests that a primary cause of cost and time overruns in asset investment projects is a failure to identify and manage project risks at all stages of the project’s lifecycle, including the particularly critical initial project planning stages. Gateway Reviews focus on addressing this issue.
The process has been developed and adopted by a number of major corporations and progressive governments.