Talk is cheap. Getting results from strategic change requires resources.

Budgets determine priorities in government. Important initiatives get funding and resources put behind them. Budgeting starts with estimating resources needed to plan and execute the core strategic initiatives. The competition for resources dictates tough decisions on which projects/spending to stop, start or continue. Making those decisions tests the resolve of team members who will lose funding or not to get to start a key project. A healthy, effective governance process facilitates those decisions and, where possible, finds ways to make affected stakeholders "whole" with alternatives to satisfying that interest.

The process relies heavily on the development of solid business cases in support budget allocations to maximize objective, fact-based decision making.

OMB guidance for budget preparation (Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission and Execution of the Budget) requires sound capital planning and detailed business cases (Exhibit 300) to support budget requests for major programs. The increasingly tight linkage between budget and performance makes it imperative that agencies develop, maintain and update sound CPIC (Capital Planning and Investment Control) plans and Exhibit 300 business cases to support funding for resources needed to fund acquisition improvement initiatives.

Strategic sourcing initiatives typically will have a high ROI on initial investment to get started. Lowered prices, cost savings and enhanced productivity provide a ready means for funding strategic agency objectives. Budget advocacy needs to ensure that stakeholders share in the benefits of such strategic acquisition improvement initiatives.

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