Opportunities for Management when Budgeting

On behalf of the Shared Services Leadership Coalition (SSLC) and the IBM Center for The Business of Government, we are pleased to present this new report, Opportunities for Management when Budgeting, by Steve Redburn of George Washington University.

Roundtable participants explored ways of increasing the impact of government management initiatives, including shared services, and gaining greater traction for management initiatives in the budget process—with Congress, in the Office of Management and Budget, and across federal agencies. Discussion addressed how budget development and execution can be used to support gains in the federal government’s administrative efficiency and to accelerate ongoing efforts to increase its capacity to perform.

Drawing on these perspectives, the author outlines a series of challenges and opportunities for using the government’s budget process to improve results in numerous management areas, including technology, analytics, and shared services. The report offers specific practical recommendations to achieve such objectives, including near-, mid-, and longer-term steps that the government can take in budget development, congressional review, and budget execution.

This report builds on prior reports about budget and management reforms released by the IBM Center, including Mobilizing Capital Investment to Modernize Government (also released in collaboration with SSLC) and Transforming Government Through Technology (released based on a companion report, The Government We Need, from the Technology CEO Council).

We hope this analysis provides decision makers with guidance to help them frame new approaches to reform the budget process in ways that lead to better management outcomes.