It seems here that the audience could have been mismatched for the topic of discussion. While you did point out that the CIO was absent from the meeting, it’s possible that the group of leaders you presented to are incented to approach proposals in this way and therefore is not reflective of the opportunity available.

While evaluation of the business case is certainly a prudent and necessary evaluation component, many IT organizations are now recognizing the importance of looking beyond the business case.

Indeed, projects like that you’re proposing are perhaps more “transformational” in nature. Transformational initiatives often require executive level sponsorship and allocation. This is different from “renewal” or “improvement” projects that are driven strongly by the business case.

Perhaps there’s an opportunity to re-engage with the CIO along those lines and frame the conversation more appropriately. Alternatively, a BU or functional area outside of IT may be receptive audiences. This may be more business process-focused than you had intended, but BU’s are often strong sponsors of “experiments” that could gain momentum more broadly in the enterprise.

Bob
http://itconsultant.boblandstrom.com