Activity-based Budget Proof of Concept Project

The ABB Project is a collaboration between F&A, the TBUS 569 Independent Study team out of our own Milgard Business School, and the School of Social Work & Criminal Justice, who have volunteered to be the model program around which we will develop a “Proof of Concept” during the FY23 budget development cycle to determine the viability of a UWT transition from an incremental budget model to an activity-based budget model.

UW Tacoma employs an outdated higher education incremental budget model. Incremental budget models can hinder incentivizing unit revenue growth or cost control, can be difficult to maintain in periods of stagnant growth, and do not have flexibility to accommodate changes in enrollment patterns. Both Seattle and Bothell UW campuses employ some form of an activity-based budget model, and as the tri-campus executes UW Finance Transformation, which includes Workday Financial Management and Adaptive, the Workday Planning module for budget development, UWT must come into alignment in order to provide better data for decision making, to facilitate revenue growth and to fully maximize the efficiency of its resources.