Counties and cities across the nation are navigating an era of fiscal uncertainty.
In the wake of the pandemic recovery funding cliff, rising inflation, shifting federal funding priorities and potential volatility in securing municipal bonds, local governments face mounting financial pressure. To meet this challenge, local government decision-makers can adopt a strategic, evidence-based approach that maximizes impact, drives efficiency and ensures the most effective use of limited resources. By investing in programs that are proven to improve lives as intended, local governments can deliver on the promise of moving their communities forward despite limited resources.
Results for America hosts a six-week sprint to support county and city leaders in maximizing their impact by embedding evidence into their budget process. The Budgeting for What Works Sprint equips local officials with the tools, insights and best practices needed to make evidence-based budgeting decisions.
Guided by a team of national experts, participants will leave this opportunity with:
- An understanding of how to define and prioritize evidence in their budget process.
- An evidence definition for their local government.
- Tangible steps for institutionalizing this definition.
- A network of peers who are engaged with the same efforts.
When will the sessions be held?
Sessions will occur weekly on Wednesday’s from September 2 – October 7 and be held for 90 minutes.
When is the application deadline?
The deadline for the application is Friday, July 17th.
What will I learn?
At the end of the sprint, participants will have developed an understanding of the importance of defining and prioritizing evidence, connecting services with community level results, and access practical tools for evaluating budget proposals to make funding recommendations. Participants will have drafted evidence definition and developed a plan to embed it into their budget process and access to multiple practical tools to facilitate changes in your budget process.
Is there a cost to participate or apply?
There is no cost to participate. All Results for America sprints and resources are offered to government staff at no cost.
How many people should be on my team? Do I need to know who’s on my team before applying?
We recommend a minimum of 2 participants per city/county team to take advantage of session work time. There is no participant limit for a local government project team.
Who should apply?
- As a part of the application submission process, prospective participants should identify a small team of staff members who are involved in your local government’s budgeting process to attend each session. Upon acceptance, selected participants will receive a syllabus for attendance planning purposes.
- Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and will be evaluated based on your organization’s commitment to achieving the goals of the Sprint, your capacity to embed evidence into the budget process, and your Executive sponsor alignment, support, and engagement. Applicants are required to identify two team members prior to submitting an application:
- Executive Sponsor: Elected official or jurisdiction executive (e.g., CAO, County or City Executive, County or City Manager, or COO). This individual must be aware and supportive of participation in the sprint, but is not expected to attend sessions.
- Project Director: Key leaders with decision making authority within the budget or financial office. This individual should have the authority and/or ability to lead the development and adoption of an evidence definition as well as authorize or facilitate systemic changes to the way this definition is built into the local budget process. This participant is a core project member expected to attend all five sessions and will serve as a primary County point of contact during the sprint.
- Results for America strongly encourages applications from teams with a variety of backgrounds, lived experiences, cultures, and identities. In our experience, multifaceted teams are more likely to solve problems, be innovative, and make better decisions to serve their communities.