Performance-Based Budgeting

by Lena Geraghty and Katherine Klosek

with contributions from Kristen Ahearn and Carter Hewgley

Performance-based budgeting is the allocation of funds based on programmatic results that contribute to organizational goals. For governments, performance-based budgeting uses evidence to maximize the allocation of funds toward programs that work and away from those that don’t. This guide details performance-based budgeting and describes how it can be tied into new or existing performance management and analytics programs.

To assist cities in developing performance-based budgeting practices, the Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, a partner in the What Works Cities initiative, has created this guide. By learning from the experiences of other cities and following the steps described in this guide, cities will have a greater understanding of performance-based budgeting and be well on their way to rethinking how budgeting can work for them.