Challenge
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adopted the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process, a systematic, phased approach to budget formulation and implementation. Following suit, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) held a series of strategic working group sessions in the spring of 2014 to develop and map VHA’s current-state PPBE process. To successfully implement the PPBE process, VHA recognized the need to further define the current state, determine the ideal future state, and create a PPBE Process Program Plan. VHA requires an outline of the cohesive, end-to-end workflow and accompanying implementation plan to address improvements to organizational resources, planning, requirements, budgeting, and program execution.
Solution
Atlas Research and partner Booz Allen Hamilton are assisting VHA in reviewing its PPBE workflows, artifacts, and data sources to establish a cohesive, end-to-end process and create a plan for its implementation. The future state PPBE process will be applied to its medical services budget planning activities, integrating demand for Veterans services projections across all health programs and its funding of information technology, workforce management, and capital assets.
Results
The Atlas Team is working collaboratively with the VHA Office of Strategic Integration, VHA Office of Policy and Planning, and VHA Office of Finance to review the PPBE process. Atlas has worked with subject matter experts across VA and VHA programs to identify opportunities for improvement in its workflows, artifacts, and data sources; is conducting a pilot to provide a proof of concept for VHA-wide implementation of the process improvements; and is developing an implementation plan.