Tool 02 / 30–45 minutes
Compare policy options.
Develop a defensible recommendation by comparing mechanisms, distributional effects, delivery constraints and uncertainty.
Your output: An options brief with a baseline, trade-offs and explicit decision conditions.
When to use this tool
An early-stage qualitative appraisal, informed by the Green Book. Use a proportionate economic appraisal and your organisation’s approval process where required. The tool records reasoning; it does not calculate a preferred policy.
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Read the evidence / Reviewed 18 October 2026
Sources & scope.
AIPEX’s prompts and worked approaches are our own synthesis. Use the linked material to examine the method and its limits.
- HM Treasury
The Green Book (2026) ↗
Chapters 4–7 and 10: objectives, options, distribution and evaluation
UK appraisal guidance. Our comparison aid covers an early options discussion; it does not replace a full business case or economic appraisal.
- HM Treasury
The Magenta Book (2026) ↗
Evaluation design, impact evaluation and the counterfactual
Use to distinguish observed change from effects attributable to an intervention. Evaluation design must fit the question and context.
Go further.
Develop the underlying skills through the related course, or examine another case.