Planning, Programming, Budgeting System

Planning, Programming, Budgeting System (PPBS) is an integrated decision-making approach in which scarce resources are allocated based on established objectives and the best alternative methods for achieving those objectives.

PPBS had its beginning in the early 1960s. Economists, first in the RAND Corporation and then in the Department of Defense, did much to develop the basic concepts of PPBS. President Lyndon B. Johnson sent White House Executive Order (Bulletin 66–33) in October of 1965 to heads of federal executive departments and directed that an integrated PPBS be installed in all federal executive departments and establishments. In 1967, Johnson made the concept of PPBS an integral part of his budget message.

With the spotlight on PPBS at the national level, hundreds of articles, papers, and books appeared in the 1960s. PPBS gained attention for use in school budgeting following the interest generated at the federal level. By the early 1970s, PPBS was appearing in the literature related to educational organizations; some version of it had been adopted by many states and began to extend into local school districts.

In 1972, Joseph H. McGivney and Robert E. Hedges identified the essential features of PPBS as need, a goal stated as objective and alternatives and objectives, determining alternative methods, and evaluation.

First, planning is identifying the need, setting goals, determining objectives, and developing alternatives to the goals and objectives. Not all needs are easy to measure, which makes this particular element more challenging than it might seem initially. Next is a goal stated as objective. Third, in PPBS it is important to identify several objectives for each goal. Doing so provides the decision makers with choices of what to pursue.

Element two, programming, is the process of examining various trade-offs, analyzing each alternative method, and making comparisons between and among the alternative methods regarding which is best.

The third element, budgeting, involves the legal and financial means for allocating resources. The school budget is sometimes called the fiscal translation of the educational program. This should not be a short-term endeavor but a multiyear (2 or more) commitment by the organization. Budgeting is a complex process that includes preparation, presentation, adoption, execution, and appraisal, resulting in a budget document.

Finally, though this element, evaluation, does not appear in the title of the PPBS process, it is important for quality implementation. Evaluation goes with all steps in the process and should be done continuously.

Though the label PPBS is not often heard much anymore, the basic elements of it still exist in school budgeting processes. Similar procedures can still be found but may be identified as cost-effective analysis or program evaluation. No matter the name, school districts continue to link the educational objectives of the organization with the resources available, organized in such a way that the objectives are most likely to be achieved for the fewest resources possible, that is, planning, programming, and budgeting.