DESIGNING AND MANAGING THE JUSTICE SECTOR BUDGET ROUND

In the mid-2000s, MartinJenkins was asked to design and manage the process for allocating some hundreds of millions of new spending in the justice sector in the most effective and efficient way. The outcome was a successful budget process that was completed earlier and that cost less. 

The budget process involved six different justice sector agencies. Designing the process required us to keep a clear focus on outcomes, and to create clear expectations for the agencies about what budget bids and business cases needed to contain. We designed and developed an investment framework, appropriate governance and management structures, and robust systems and processes.

Through this new process, justice sector Ministers and agencies reached a consensus on spending priorities. The budget process was also markedly more efficient than in previous years, being completed earlier and with much lower transaction costs. A further result was that links between the justice sector and the wider social sector were deepened.