Agency-to-Department-to-President's-Budget Workflow Gaps
RD's annual Budget Formulation cycle moves Agency Estimates through Department Estimates (USDA OBPA, under Director Rapp and Deputy Director for Budget Formulation Barrack) to the President's Budget submission to OMB, and the handoffs are friction-laden — driving cycle-time pressure into the credit subsidy estimate, MAX schedule load, and OMB CSR.
Why It Matters
Every day lost to handoff friction reduces time available for substantive negotiation with OMB on RD's credit programs. OBPA's documented annual throughput (1,184 budget execution documents in 2023, including 299 SF-132s and 78 internal apportionments) means even small improvements compound across the cycle.
HSG's Approach
- 1Map the current-state Agency Estimates → Department Estimates → President's Budget workflow with telemetry on handoff cycle time, rework rate, and bottleneck stations.
- 2Design a to-be workflow with shared SharePoint / Power Automate intake, version-controlled templates, and standardized exception escalation paths.
- 3Bring HSG team experience supporting HUD CFO budget submissions and Maurice House's USDA FAS Department-level liaison career to bear on the OBP ↔ OBPA ↔ OMB chain.
- 4Stand up a budget-cycle program management office (PMO) function with weekly stand-ups, milestone tracking, and OMB-ready briefing packs.
- 5Produce a one-page 'Director's Dashboard' showing real-time status of every open budget submission element.
Expected Deliverables
- Current-state and to-be workflow maps with telemetry
- Standardized templates and shared intake (SharePoint / Power Automate)
- Budget-cycle PMO charter and cadence
- Director's Dashboard (real-time submission status)
- SOPs for OBP / OBPA / OMB-exam handoffs
Expected Outcome
Compress the Agency-Estimates-to-President's-Budget cycle by 25% and cut rework loops with OBPA and OMB by 50%.