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The Future of Budgeting

Georgia Tech’s Budget Reform Initiative

Georgia Tech’s 10-year Institute Strategic Plan promotes growth across the Institute. A new budget model is needed that can reward innovation, contain costs, and generate revenue in alignment with strategic goals and priorities.

What Is Budget Reform?

 

Why Are We Reforming the Budget?

 

Who Will Budget Reform Impact?

When Will Budget Reform Take Effect?

The budget reform project will update our budgeting process from its current incremental budget model to a Hybrid Allocation Model. The project will take place over three phases:

  • Phase 1 – Diagnostic / Current State Assessment
  • Phase 2 – Solution Design / Reformed Budget Model + Implementation Roadmap
  • Phase 3 – Implementation / Training

In alignment with the Institute Strategic Plan, the budget reform effort will implement a new budget model to reward innovation, promote generation of revenue, and encourage cost containment. New planning and forecasting processes will be supported by Workday Adaptive Planning.

Budget reform impacts each college as well as non-college units.

Budget reform will be implemented over the course of five years, beginning with the current state diagnostic that will gradually transition the university from the current incremental budget model to the new Hybrid Allocation Model.

As stewards of the Institute’s financial landscape, we embark on the budget reform initiative with a steadfast dedication to efficiency, equity, and the pursuit of academic excellence. Through collaboration and strategic resource allocation, we aspire to empower our community, ensuring a sustainable and vibrant future for all Yellow Jackets.

Shantay N. Bolton

Executive Vice President of Administration & Finance and Chief Business Officer

We are ushering in an opportunity to align our strategic academic goals with our new budget model to advance the Institute’s overall mission.  As our colleges deliver strategic priorities and serve our students, they will simultaneously be rewarded.

Steven McLaughlin

Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Our Roadmap

The Hybrid Allocation Model, which represents the Institute’s end state of budgeting, will be implemented in FY26. The Budget Reform project is guided by a comprehensive five-year roadmap designed to provide leadership with sufficient time to refine and adjust the model, facilitating a smooth transition from Georgia Tech’s traditional incremental budgeting approach to the new model.

During the budget years FY24 and FY25, a parallel process was established. During this period, the Net New Revenue model allocated all General Operations (new state appropriations, tuition revenues, other revenues, and ICR) based on a funding formula. While the legacy model continued to handle resource allocations, the Hybrid Allocation Model was utilized concurrently for analytical purposes. Feedback from internal stakeholders was actively gathered and assessed, leading governance committees to propose enhancements during this timeframe. Additionally, budget processes were digitized and revamped such as the New Expense Request Form (NERF) process and reporting tools such as Workday Adaptive Planning were introduced to improve financial management.

This phased approach is designed to ensure a seamless transition, allowing for essential adjustments and training before the Hybrid Allocation Model is fully employed in FY26.

Budget Reform Timeline

Our Principles

The following guiding principles set the direction for the Budget Reform effort and serve as the project’s north star throughout solution design, implementation, and in support of the budget model well beyond go-live.

Reflect Values and Realize Vision

Reflect the Institute’s values and realize its vision.

Be Transparent

Establish common understanding and visibility into sources and uses of funds.

Keep it Simple

Create a model that is easy to use and interpret and incentivizes leaders to focus on highest valued activities.

Promote Accountability

Empower people-centered, value-based and data-informed decision-making commensurate with responsibility.

Balance Predictability with Flexibility

Enable predictable, forward-looking financial planning, while balancing the needs of a comprehensive research institute.

Reward Innovation

Celebrate and incentivize collaboration and innovation in all that we do – revenue creation and expense containment.

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