Participation of Staff and Stakeholders

Just as it is important to have budget and finance strategic support staff at the table when overall strategy is set, it is important that the budget and finance plan lay out the best ways to involve others in this work. The agency’s budgets, financial reports and related data and analysis should typically be transparent to staff and stakeholders on an ongoing basis. They should be refined as agency leaders, decision makers and working committees learn to do things more strategically and recommend enhancements to those that govern the plans. Like all effective plans, budgets and financial plans are created to help guide an organization through an unfolding reality. They serve as a touchstone for ongoing monitoring, innovation and performance accountability. Involving staff and stakeholders in the development and monitoring of these plans results in:

• Stronger partnerships and more integrated efforts on behalf of those served
• More secure funding and other forms of long-term support
• Better implementation of specific initiatives
• Clearer roles and expectations throughout the organization and within each program and functional area
• An enhanced perception of the agency and its work
• More timely and accurate information from the agency’s broader environment.

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