Creating and Applying Budget Data To Advance Climate Plan Outcomes

Purpose

• Provide a macro overview of local government capabilities and the need to create purpose-driven budget and finance strategies.
• Familiarity with the role cities/counties have in addressing climate action and new ways to approach budgeting for impacts, not just filling line items. What are “climate” items in the budget? What do you “control”?
• Create a common understanding of city/county climate priorities and how the current budget is/is not addressing the needs.
• Introduce participants to Priority Based Budgeting (PBB) and the larger insights process.
• Identify what works and ways to improve collaboration and communication between budget, procurement, and climate teams.
• City/counties match their critical climate projects with budget and finance tools needed for delivery.
• Determine the primary project and the team responsible for delivery.
• Create a budget request and procurement design strategy.

Roles and Expectations

Local government staff

• Attend training sessions and review materials suggested by ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA) and Resource X (RX) (recordings and slides will be made available to those who cannot be present at a session).
• Regular communication between city/county staff to determine the distribution of tasks, establish deadlines, discuss progress, and resolve any challenges. Staff is expected to communicate limitations regarding availability and technical capacity to each other, ICLEI USA, and RX.

        Time commitment
         The time commitment for city/county staff during the course of the program will vary based on:

• • Level of depth/detail on certain tasks (Review the step-by-step guidance for an estimated range of hours for each task).
  • How “complete” you would like the deliverables to be.
  • How tasks are distributed between staff.
  
  For a deliverable that includes the minimum necessary components and is nearly ready for finalization and adoption:
  • You need approximately 6 working months.
  • An average of 6 hours per week (total, not just for fellows or staff), with some weeks requiring more or less for fellows and/or staff depending on the task and the desired scope/methodology for the task.
    
    
  • Time should be distributed appropriately based on known schedule limitations (vacations, work, etc.).
  • Complete and/or coordinate the completion of tasks involved with the above.
    
    

ICLEI USA and Resource X

• Deliver trainings and one-on-one technical assistance to fellows and staff.
• Share recordings/slide decks.
• Review deliverables.

Cohort Partners

• Resilient Cities Catalyst
• Government Finance Officers Association
• The Institute for Public Procurement

Session Schedule

All recordings and slide decks will be saved within the appropriate session section below. If you are unable to attend a session, please watch the recording and review the slides as soon as possible.

Kick-Off          Session 1         Session 2         Session 3         Session 4         Session 5         Session 6         Session 7

About the Collaborators 

ResourceX is the only software provider for the data-driven, decision-making budgeting solution known as Priority Based Budgeting (PBB). PBB strategically aligns resources with community outcomes to support local government efforts to increase transparency, optimize resources, and pursue ambitious goals important to residents. Using PBB with the ResourceX software provides a powerful platform to understand the actual cost of the services local government provides and to ensure those services align with community priorities.

ICLEI USA is a global network of more than 2,500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Active in 125+ countries, ICLEI influences sustainability policy and drives local action for low-emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development. ICLEI USA is an acknowledged leader in local government technical assistance, providing the tools, standards, and programs for local governments to measurably reduce carbon emissions. 

Guest Presenters (TBC)
Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC), fosters cross-department collaboration to enhance communications and process awareness.

Government Finance Officer Association (GFOA) provides timely information, practical educational opportunities, high-quality professional publications, and the latest information on best practices for government finance professionals.

National Institute for Government Procurement (NIGP) brings additional credibility as the lead supporting agency for government and institutional procurement officers.

Desired Outcomes
Participant Teams will:

• Identify annual budget components that have climate action implications;
• Co-develop a project that will advance an activity from a municipal climate action plan and includes it as a component of the municipal budget;
• Develop a corresponding procurement execution plan or RFP solicitation designed to execute budget appropriations;
• Develop policies or procedures for enduring communication and collaboration between sustainability and climate efforts and budget and procurement exercises.
• Commit to including sustainability staff lead in the city/county budget process.

Content
Instructors will provide:

• Climate budgetary evaluation, execution and risk analysis.
• Introduction to priority-based budgeting systems and tools;
• Identification of municipal tools for mitigation and adaptation such as fleet, facilities, energy and materials procurement; and land use, infrastructure and development decisions is in great need;
• Awareness of national and international frameworks for climate action that impact municipal finance (such as Sustainable Development Goals); Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB);
• Identification of opportunities to intersect climate action planning alongside budget cycles and more sustainable forms of procurement;
• Capabilities to foster enhanced climate-focused communication and consideration across the organization (and specifically across procurement, budget and sustainability offices.