More broadly, in the long recovery from the Great Recession, budget officers, agency heads, and elected officials enacted reforms to quickly and efficiently access and use data and evidence, allowing them to be more resilient and responsive to changing needs. The department director at the time said that a focus on evidence challenged them to do better. "Relying on data and evidence to make spending decisions, which has proved useful in times of prosperity, is critical now during a recession."įor example, in Iowa-one of the first states to work with Results First-a shrinking budget because of that recession led the Department of Corrections to reassess its services so that it was spending its limited funding wisely on programs known through research to be effective and that provided a positive return on investment for the state. Out of that concern came Results First, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, to help state and local officials use evidence to make strategic investments in programs that work and to make tough budget decisions based on nonpartisan, objective data to deliver the best possible outcomes. State officials say they learned during the Great Recession of 2007-09 that, in the face of declining revenue, the ability to effectively and accurately prioritize spending on programs and services that have beneficial outcomes is crucial. Instead, there are useful, proven tools that policymakers can use to inform their spending decisions that will lead to better outcomes during the downturn that began suddenly in February. Though state and county officials are facing unprecedented fiscal challenges, leaders should resist the temptation to make indiscriminate, across-the-board budget cuts. Relying on data and evidence to make spending decisions, which has proved useful in times of prosperity, is critical now during a recession. While revenue is decreasing, the demand for services during a health and economic crisis is increasing.
Strategic budget planning how to#
As the impact of COVID-19 reaches communities across the country, elected officials have been forced to assess how to cut spending in the face of sharp reductions in revenue and the changing needs of the people they serve.
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