Resource Management Model

Background

Due to the dynamic environment in higher public education, budget leaders at Iowa State University worked with the university community to develop an alternative budget model that will be more flexible and responsive to the needs of the university.

On January 24, 2007, President Geoffroy decided that Iowa State University will adopt the Resource Management Model, which was developed through a series of university committees with broad feedback from the university community. Information about the implementation of the Resource Management Model is available online.

The primary differences between the university's current budgeting model and the Resource Management Model are that the new model:

• More accurately links responsibilities with resource decisions
• Provides decision-makers with more transparent and relevant information
• Provides a more effective way to accomplish the goals of the university's strategic plan
• Rewards units that focus on high quality education, research, and outreach programs

The principles underlying the Resource Management Model include:

• Distributes revenues to the Resource Responsibility Centers that generate the revenues, and in a manner that is transparent, easy to understand, and informed by data
• Allocates central administrative and support service costs to Resource Responsibility Centers that benefit from those services
• Insures a greater role for budget advisory committees that will provide advice for budgeting decisions
• Provides university units with the flexibility to create "Strategic Reserve Funds" to be used for strategic multiple-year initiatives and for managing unexpected fluctuations of revenues or expenses

The process began in summer 2005 when President Geoffroy named a Budget Model Study Group. The group sought feedback from the university community on the issues with the current budget model and the interest in developing an alternative budget model. Based on the study, it was decided to proceed with developing an alternative budget model for the university.

The President named the Budget Model Development Committee (BMDC) in fall 2005 to begin exploring the conceptual issues of a responsive budget and how the flow of university resources should be distributed. The committee issued several reports to President Geoffrey that addressed conceptual issues and outlined three alternative budget models. The committee proposed a final budget model in its report in July 2006.

President Geoffroy accepted the report and commissioned a new committee, the Budget Model Review and Implementation Committee (BMRIC), to coordinate the university-wide review of the budget model and to provide recommendations for refinement. From July 2006 to September 2006, the BRMIC conducted dozens of presentations and briefings with various interest groups across campus, including three open forums.

Based on the broad feedback from the university community, the Budget Model Review and Implementation Committee updated the proposed budget model and named it the Resource Management Model. President Geoffroy accepted the committee's October report and forwarded it to his cabinet members, deans, the Faculty Senate, and the Professional and Scientific Council for advice. On January 22, President Geoffroy accepted the January report of the Budget Model Review and Implementation Committee. On May 2, he accepted the final report of the Budget Model Review and Implementation Committee. The committee had completed its work and was disbanded.