Competitive Grant Funding: An Innovative Approach to Program and Grant Budgeting
We propose that the state creates a $150 million pot of funds. Each of these relatively small programs and grants must compete for funding from the Competitive Grant Funding pot.
by Collin Hitt
The Illinois Policy Institute released Budget Solutions 2012 on Tuesday, March 8. To date, it is the only detailed, balanced, sustainable budget plan that has been published on state government general fund spending. The plan contains several recommendations for education and Medicaid spending, but it also includes one idea that was completely new and innovative: Competitive Grant Funding.
The budget of Illinois is riddled with items that, by state budgeting standards, are relatively small. When totaled up, however, all programs and grants of $5 million or less equaled almost $350 million last year. Illinois cannot keep funding all of these programs, but it doesnt have to eliminate all of them. We developed a new approach.
We propose that the state creates a $150 million pot of funds. Each of these relatively small programs and grants must compete for funding from the Competitive Grant Funding pot. No small program or grant will have its funding automatically renewed, but each will have the opportunity to stand above all others and demonstrate that it is indeed a priority for taxpayers. Competitive Grant Funding saves the state an estimated $200 million and the competition for dollars will guarantee that state money goes to the most efficient and effective programs. Also, by requiring that every program provide vital information during the competition process, taxpayers will gain unprecedented information and transparency about these programs and the governments decision-making process.