The State of Illinois Presents: Budgeting for Results and Paying for Success in State Government

llinois is a leader among US states in implementing across-the-board performance budgeting–a combination of strategic planning, performance management, and program-based budgeting.

In 2012 and 2013, the Illinois Governor’s Office of Management and Budget led an initiative to identify outcome measures for more than 450 programs across the 60 agencies under the governor, from transportation to human services, education to public safety, healthcare, economic development, culture and recreation, and administrative services. State leaders expect that publishing data on these program measures and setting targets for the coming fiscal year will change the nature of the annual budget process, driving more consideration of the relative “cost per outcome” of each program across state government.

Illinois is the third state in the US to announce a pay-for-success social impact initiative, in which the state will base its payment to a service provider on how successful the initiative is at driving down future costs to taxpayers. In the pilot project, a child welfare service provider will work closely with “dually-involved youth” (wards of the state who have had some interaction with juvenile justice) to reduce their chances of recidivism and improve their opportunities to live productive lives. An independent evaluator will measure the effects of the program and identify the downstream cost savings to the state.

Greg Wass is the Chief Technology Officer for the State of Illinois and was previously a Senior Advisor to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Chief Information Officer for Cook County, Illinois. He also serves as chair of the Illinois Century Network and co-chair of the Illinois Human Services Commission.