The Fictional Case
Eight community sites have two workshops each: sixteen sessions. Sites1-4 use Orchard Hall under an April 1-30, 2027 lease; sites 5-8 use partner centers, and facilitator contract FC-1 states sixteen sessions at 400 USD each. Eight kit sets have already been delivered and stored, while later distribution of printed learning materials starts only after all workshops end. Grant G1 clause5 requires written donor approval to change site numbers and clause7 requires prior written approval to change approved schedule dates; pause, reduction and cancellation terms are not supplied.
All names, terms and amounts below are invented.
Comparison Table
| Question | Pause | Resequence | Scope reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dependency | Workshops stop temporarily; dependent distribution waits | April work at sites 1-4 stays; sites 5-8 move to June/July, delaying the all-workshops dependency | Four retained sites yield eight sessions; whether later distribution can change needs a decision |
| Commitments | Lease, delivered kits and FC-1 do not vanish | April lease stays; facilitator rescheduling consequences unknown | FC-1's affected face value is not an established saving; delivered kits remain |
| Permission question | Indefinite-stop permission NOT SUPPLIED; ask actual owner | G1 clause7 requires prior written schedule approval | G1 clause5 requires written site-number approval; check schedule consequences too |
| What stays reversible? | A planning hold can be reconsidered; elapsed time and actual costs cannot be unwound | A proposed order can change before authorized commitments; agreed terms still govern | A proposal can be reconsidered; any actual cancellation/redistribution needs its own authority |
| What stays unknown? | Duration, costs, permission and restart conditions | New availability, charges and downstream dates | Cancellation terms, costs, remaining kit use and changed delivery feasibility |
Similar Labels, Different Effects
- Waiting does not prove that no money is being incurred. FC-1's pause terms are unknown.
- Resequencing retains sixteen planned sessions but changes their dates; it is not permission to extend the grant.
- Reducing to sites 1-4 retains 4 x 2 = eight sessions. At 400 each, 3,200 USD is retained face value and 3,200 USD is affected face value from the original 6,400. Neither figure establishes cancellation savings.
What Needs Pricing or a Decision
Obtain FC-1's actual pause, reschedule, reduction and cancellation terms; price only supported options. Check lease obligations and the stored kits' permitted disposition. Ask the delegated owner and required donor authority to address the specific proposed action, including the currently unknown pause route. Preserve pending status until actual decisions exist.
Program and finance leads take the comparison to the authorized owner; the table does not choose. Use the uncertain-cost change request to build the separate evidence packet.
Limits and Sources
The five comparison questions and reversibility judgments are editorial practice. CC26 (September 16, 2026), decision guidance (November 2, 2020) and Tool10's checklist (January 3, 2011) inform risk, delegation and adjustment questions in England and Wales. UK framework guidance (July 13, 2026) and contract-modification guidance concern covered Procurement Act arrangements, not universal NGO rights. NCVO's full-cost-recovery guidance (reviewed December 1, 2022, UK) informs explicit underfunding decisions. None supplies FC-1 prices, automatic amendments or savings. No recipient-result measurement is taught. Checked November 1, 2026.