Project planning is 30% of the score. The weight is split across programme, procurement, risk register, and trust capacity to deliver. The evidence pack is the make-or-break input.
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What does ESFA expect under project planning?
How are programme, procurement and risk graded?
Specimen high-scoring planning section?
Common weak inputs?
Weight relative to need and VFM?
The highest-scoring planning sections describe procurement under the DfE-compliant framework path, with a named contractor short-list and a risk register that maps to project-need risks.
Common weak inputs: generic programme, vague procurement, no named adviser, and a thin risk register that does not show the trust has thought through the delivery path.