Program and Planning budgeting

Program and planning budgeting bases expenditures primarily on programs, and secondarily on objects. It is used for planning, establishing, modifying and improving goals: determines cost and alternative plan's cost for achieving each goal. This is a transitional form of budgeting between traditional line-item and performance-based budgets.

Pros

• Places emphasis on identifying goals of the organization and then relating expenditures to goals.
• Places less emphasis on control/evaluation.
• Reports summarized in broad terms and not specific line items.
• Allows for long-range planning.

Cons

• Can be limited by: changes in long-term goals, lack of consensus,on organizational goals; lack of adequate program/cost data; and difficulty administering programs that involve several organizational units.

From Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy