Contact Us Home Overview SMART Governing The SMART Governing cycle is designed to improve Alabama Government by requiring organizational planning, linking plans to budget requests and appropriations, and creating meaningful performance measurements. SMART is Specific results Measurable key goals Accountable to stakeholders Responsive to customers Transparent to everyone The State of Alabama already has a sound budgeting law, known as the Budget Management Act (§§ 41-19-1 through 12, Code of Alabama 1975), and an appropriation architecture built to accommodate the kind of performance management system envisioned in SMART Governing. What we lack, and this new approach will provide, is strategic planning on the “front end” of the process and meaningful performance monitoring to complete the process on the “back end.” The result will be a comprehensive planning, budgeting, and performance monitoring process. The phases of the SMART Governing cycle are described below. The first phase of SMART Governing is developing a strategic plan, a SMART Plan. Each agency and institution of higher education will identify its mission or purpose, goals, a vision for the future and a high level plan of how they will achieve the stated goals. Part of the process will include looking at internal and external strengths and weaknesses. This analysis will lead to the identification of critical issues that must be resolved in order for the agency to meet its goals. These issues may be roadblocks or opportunities that are manageable and that will enable the agency or institution to move forward toward its goals. Finally, the plan will identify specific ways to measure progress made toward meeting the stated goals. This will be done by listing performance measures or indicators and indicating the targets or objectives for the fiscal year. The second phase is the SMART Budget Request. It is a summary plan plus an annual funds request which includes the cost of each budget program or budget activity. This is presented to the legislature for the appropriation of funds. The SMART Operations Plan is the third phase of SMART Governing. This is a revised budget request reflecting the funds appropriated in the budget passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. The SMART Operations Plan is submitted for approval and spending authority. In some situations, the budget programs or activities may be different than the budget request because level of funding has changed. Some may need to scale back programs or activities; others may be able to increase based on funds available. The last phase, SMART Quarterly Performance Report, compares actual accomplishments to those planned. Based on the performance indicators and objectives identified previously, performance is reported after the end of every quarter. These reports will give a picture of how the agency or institution is managing within the funds allotted. Information from these reports will be useful in planning for the future as the SMART cycle continues. Implementing SMART Governing creates an open window on Alabama government, inviting the people of Alabama to see what is being accomplished with their investment of tax dollars.