What Is an Accepted Programme? NEC4 EVM Baseline

<div class="ge-article-wrapper"><nav class="ge-toc" aria-label="Table of contents"><p class="ge-toc-label">In this article</p><ul class="ge-toc-list"><li><a href="#how-the-accepted-programme-creates-the-pv-baseline">How the Accepted Programme Creates the PV Baseline</a></li><li><a href="#theoretical-example">Theoretical Example</a></li><li><a href="#what-happens-when-the-programme-isnt-accepted">What Happens When the Programme Isn't Accepted</a></li><li><a href="#programme-updates-and-baseline-integrity">Programme Updates and Baseline Integrity</a></li><li><a href="#frequently-asked-questions">Frequently Asked Questions</a></li></ul></nav><article class="ge-article-body"><p>The Accepted Programme is the programme identified in the NEC4 Contract Data or the latest programme accepted by the Project Manager. In earned value management terms, the Accepted Programme is your <a href="/en/earned-value/definitions/planned-value">Planned Value</a> baseline, the reference point against which all progress is measured. Without an accepted programme, you cannot calculate PV, which means you cannot calculate <a href="/en/earned-value/definitions/schedule-performance-index">SPI</a>, <a href="/en/earned-value/definitions/schedule-variance">SV</a>, or any schedule-related <a href="/en/earned-value">earned value</a> metric.</p><p>On NEC4 contracts, the Accepted Programme isn't just a planning tool. It's a contractual instrument. Clause 31 requires the contractor to submit a programme for acceptance within the period stated in Contract Data Part 1 (typically two to four weeks after the Contract Date). Clause 32 sets out the grounds on which the Project Manager may reject it. Once accepted, it governs everything from <a href="/en/earned-value/definitions/compensation-event">compensation event</a> assessments to <a href="/en/earned-value/definitions/extension-of-time">extension of time</a> entitlements.</p><p>I've seen teams treat the programme as an afterthought, something the planner maintains in a corner while the commercial team gets on with the real work. That's backwards. On an NEC4 target cost contract, the Accepted Programme is the single most commercially significant document after the contract itself.</p><h2 id="how-the-accepted-programme-creates-the-pv-baseline">How the Accepted Programme Creates the PV Baseline</h2><p>The relationship between the Accepted Programme and Planned Value is direct:</p><pre class="ge-ascii-diagram ge-anim"> ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ACCEPTED PROGRAMME │ │ │ │ Activity 1 ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ £800K (Months 1-4) │ │ Activity 2 ░░░░████████████░░░░░░ £1.2M (Months 3-7) │ │ Activity 3 ░░░░░░░░░░████████████ £600K (Months 6-10) │ │ Activity 4 ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░████████ £400K (Months 8-10) │ │ │ │ BAC = £3.0M │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ PLANNED VALUE (PV) │ │ │ │ Month 1: £200K (cumulative) │ │ Month 2: £400K │ │ Month 3: £700K ← Activity 2 starts │ │ Month 4: £1.1M ← Activity 1 completes │ │ Month 5: £1.4M │ │ Month 6: £1.8M ← Activity 3 starts │ │ Month 7: £2.2M ← Activity 2 completes │ │ Month 8: £2.5M ← Activity 4 starts │ │ Month 9: £2.8M │ │ Month 10: £3.0M = BAC │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ </pre><p>Each activity in the programme is assigned a budget (this is the <a href="/en/earned-value/definitions/cost-loaded-schedule">cost-loaded schedule</a>). The cumulative budget at any point in time is the Planned Value for that date. The total of all activity budgets equals <a href="/en/earned-value/definitions/budget-at-completion">BAC</a>.</p><h2 id="theoretical-example">Theoretical Example</h2><span class="ge-worked-label">Worked Example</span><div class="ge-callout ge-anim"><p><strong>Scenario:</strong> Costain is delivering a £28M water treatment upgrade under NEC4 Option C. The Accepted Programme shows 42 activities across four work packages. At month 6, the commercial manager needs to run the earned value analysis.</p><p>The Accepted Programme says £11.2M of work should be in the ground by month 6 (PV = £11.2M). Physical progress measurement shows 36% of the works complete.</p><p><strong>EV</strong> = £28M × 0.36 = £10.08M <strong>SPI</strong> = £10.08M / £11.2M = <strong>0.90</strong></p><p><strong>Interpretation:</strong> The project is running at 90% of planned efficiency. For every pound of work that should have been completed by now, only 90p has been delivered. The 10% gap represents a programme shortfall that, if it continues, will push completion beyond the planned date.</p><p>Without the Accepted Programme to establish PV, this calculation is impossible. The programme isn't just a planning tool. It's the reference frame that gives EV meaning.</p></div><h2 id="what-happens-when-the-programme-isnt-accepted">What Happens When the Programme Isn't Accepted</h2><p>Under NEC4 clause 50.5, if the contractor has not submitted a programme for acceptance or the Project Manager has not accepted it, one quarter of the Price for Work Done to Date is retained. That's a 25% cash flow hit.</p><p>From an EVM perspective, the problem is equally severe. Without an Accepted Programme:</p><ul><li><strong>PV is undefined.</strong> You cannot establish a time-phased budget baseline.</li><li><strong>SPI and SV cannot be calculated.</strong> You lose all schedule performance visibility.</li><li><strong>Compensation events cannot be properly assessed.</strong> Clause 63.1 requires assessment against the Accepted Programme.</li><li><strong>Your entire EVM system is operating blind on the schedule dimension.</strong> You can still track cost performance (CPI relies on EV and AC, not PV), but schedule analysis becomes guesswork.</li></ul><h2 id="programme-updates-and-baseline-integrity">Programme Updates and Baseline Integrity</h2><p>NEC4 clause 32.2 requires the contractor to submit revised programmes at intervals stated in the Contract Data (typically every four weeks). Each revision, once accepted, becomes the new Accepted Programme.</p><p>This creates a challenge for EVM practitioners. If your PV baseline changes every month, how do you measure cumulative schedule performance? There are two approaches:</p><p><strong>Approach 1: Fixed baseline, rolling comparison.</strong> Keep the original Accepted Programme as the <a href="/en/earned-value/definitions/performance-measurement-baseline">PMB</a>. Measure SPI against this original plan. Updated programmes inform management decisions but don't shift the measurement baseline.</p><p><strong>Approach 2: Rolling baseline with change control.</strong> Update the PMB each time the programme is revised, but only for changes caused by <a href="/en/earned-value/definitions/compensation-event">compensation events</a> (which legitimately change BAC). Contractor delays shouldn't shift the baseline.</p><p>Most commercial teams I've worked with on NEC4 prefer Approach 2. It keeps the baseline aligned with the contract's commercial position while preventing the contractor from "re-baselining away" their own delays.</p><div class="ge-product-note ge-anim"><p><strong>How Gather helps.</strong> Gather's AI reads your site diaries daily and maps progress against your cost-loaded programme, giving you accurate earned value data without manual spreadsheet updates. <a href="https://gatherinsights.com/contact">Book a demo</a> to see it working on a live NEC4 project.</p></div><h2 id="frequently-asked-questions">Frequently Asked Questions</h2><h3>What's the difference between the Accepted Programme and a baseline programme?</h3><p>On NEC4, the Accepted Programme is the contractual baseline. In traditional EVM terminology, the baseline programme is the PMB's schedule component. They're functionally the same thing, but the NEC4 Accepted Programme has additional contractual significance. It governs compensation event assessment, delay analysis, and payment mechanisms.</p><h3>Can the Project Manager reject a programme submission?</h3><p>Yes. Clause 31.3 lists specific grounds for non-acceptance: the programme doesn't comply with the contract, it's not practicable, it doesn't show the information required, or the contractor hasn't submitted it using the agreed planning method. The PM cannot reject it simply because they disagree with the logic or sequencing, only on the stated grounds.</p><h3>How often should the programme be updated for EVM purposes?</h3><p>At the frequency stated in Contract Data Part 1, typically every four weeks, aligned with the monthly assessment cycle. This gives you fresh PV data at each EVM reporting point. More frequent updates create noise; less frequent updates mean your PV baseline is drifting from reality.</p><h3>What happens to PV when a compensation event changes the programme?</h3><p>The implemented compensation event adjusts both BAC (through the change to the Prices) and the time-phased PV baseline (through the revised Accepted Programme). All historic EVM data is measured against the baseline that was current at the time. You don't retrospectively adjust past performance, you adjust the go-forward baseline.</p></article></div>