Submission Form for FY21 Operating Budget Requests:

Each year, agency budget officers are responsible for entering cost increase plans into the Budget Entry Analysis and Reporting System (BEARS). Beginning this year, we are asking for more detailed information for fiscal year 2020-2021 requests, which will require advanced planning and input from leadership within each agency. For each cost increase request that is not mandated by law, the following form should be completed and uploaded to BEARS by budget officers. Budget officers should also email a final copy to their budget office analyst who will review each request and send back entries that do not provide sufficient detail. Please note that these forms are public and provided to the legislature for review.

Agency:	Choose an item.

Adjustment Number:	BDEADJ- Click here to enter text.

Please enter five digit code

Adjustment Classification:	☐ Cost Increase

Is there a corresponding efficiency plan for this request?	☐Yes	☐No

Adjustment Name:	ex: Rural Opportunity Fund

Short name of request

Total Funds:	Recurring: $5,000	Non-Recurring: $5,000

Tab between fields

Positions: 0

Agency Prioritization:	Choose an item.

1 is the highest priority

Description:

Insert a short description	ex: To provide non-recurring funding for the rural opportunity fund. The fund is a public-private partnership that provides loans and technical assistance to small, minority, and women-owned rural businesses that are unable to access tradt'l loan capital.

Long Description:	Please provide answers to the questions below for each budget request.

Budget Officers: This form can take the place of a detailed entry in the Long Description box in BEARS. Please copy/paste the description above in the Long Description box and then upload this document.

Current Program/Service:

What is the current program/service that the state provides? What are its broad responsibilities including who and how many the program serves?

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Problem or Opportunity:

What is the problem or opportunity that this request will address?

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How did the issue become a problem? To your knowledge, has the state invested money previously to address this problem? If so, how much and when?

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How is the problem impacting service delivery? How is the problem impacting workload, inputs and outputs?

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Proposed Solution:

What is the program/service that this request would fund? What are its broad responsibilities including who the program serves? Has it already been implemented during a previous fiscal year?

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How does this request tie to the agency’s vision and mission and the goals within your strategic plan?

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How will this request address the problem or opportunity above? How will the solution improve service delivery? How will the solution impact workload, inputs and outputs? Please note: If you are proposing or expanding a program that fits the definition of “evidence-based” as defined on page 4, please complete the additional form on page 6.

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How many additional customers will be served by this request? How far reaching will this solution be (e.g., statewide, regional, limited pilot, etc.)? If limited, which counties will it serve and are any of them distressed counties?

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Would this solution require an associated rule or statutory change? If so, please provide more information on what needs to change.

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Is this solution planned as a multi-year effort? If so, what programmatic or fiscal requests can we expect in the future?

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Does this solution have an impact programmatically or fiscally on any other agency? If so, which one(s)?

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Funding:

Describe the assumptions used to determine the final funding and position request.

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If there are any non-recurring dollars as part of this request, please explain those.

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If non-state funding is included in this request, please provide details on the source of that funding.

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Overview

As we move into the development of the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget, the State of Tennessee is more intentionally focused on investing in programs and initiatives supported by evidence and research. The goal is to invest in what works in order to improve outcomes for the citizens of Tennessee. To that end, we are providing this optional form to agencies to highlight evidence that supports a cost increase request.

Agencies should complete this form for budget requests with components that could potentially be categorized as “evidence-based.” For purposes of this work, evidence-based programs are those with one or more evaluations (in Tennessee or elsewhere) that use high-quality experimental or quasi-experimental designs. In the section that follows, you will find further information on the tiers of evidence to better inform whether you should submit this form. If, after reading the information below, you are still unsure whether you should complete this form, please contact Jayme Simmons (Jayme.Simmons@tn.gov) in the Budget Office directly.

Determining Evidence-Based Programs

Determining whether a program is evidence-based involves examining both the quality of evidence and its impact (i.e., positive, negative, no impact). The tiers of evidence below capture both components beginning with positive impact at the top. Where referenced, qualifying evaluations are those that use high-quality experimental or quasi-experimental designs. For purposes of this form, evidenced-based programs include any programs or services that fall in the first two tiers, but agencies are welcome to fill out this form for theory-based programs as well.

Tiers of Evidence	Definition
Proven Effective	A program or service that is proven effective has a high level of research on effectiveness for at least one outcome of interest, determined through multiple qualifying evaluations—high-quality experimental or quasi-experimental designs—outside of Tennessee or one or more qualifying Tennessee-based evaluation.
Promising	A program or service that is promising has some research demonstrating effectiveness for at least one outcome of interest, such as a single qualifying evaluation that is not contradicted by other such studies but does not meet the full criteria for the proven effective designation.
Theory-Based	A program or service that is theory–based has no qualifying evaluations on effectiveness. These programs typically have a well-constructed theory of change and may have other evidence but do not meet the above criteria.
Mixed Effects	A program or service that has mixed effects has a high level of research on the effectiveness of multiple outcomes; however, the outcomes have contradictory effects, determined through multiple qualifying evaluations outside of Tennessee or one or more qualifying Tennessee-based evaluation.
No Effect	A program or service that has no evidence of effect has no impact on the measured outcome.

Proposal Submission

Within a given budget request, there may be multiple programs that could be evidence-based. Please indicate each one separately in Section 2 of the form and summarize the existing evidence, including the source of this evidence, such as citations for evaluations or a clearinghouse link. For such links, agencies are encouraged to consult the Results First Clearinghouse Database, which identifies thousands of programs that have been rigorously evaluated by one or more of nine national clearinghouses.

After all forms are submitted, the Budget Office will review each one and—where qualifying evaluations exist—verify a request is evidence-based. This information will then be provided to the team of individuals responsible for making budget decisions.

If you have additional questions, please contact Jayme Simmons in the Budget Office at Jayme.Simmons@tn.gov.

Section 1: Name and Contact

Budget Adjustment Name	Click here to enter text.
Budget Adjustment Number	BDEAJ-XXXXX
Requesting Agency	Click here to enter text.
Contact Name/Email	Click here to enter text.

Section 2: Evidence | Use the space below to describe the evidence for the effectiveness of the program or service described in this budget request.

Name of Program/Service	Summary of evidence, including expected impact on outcomes	Source of Evidence
Click here to enter text.	Click here to enter text.	Click here to enter text.
Click here to enter text.	Click here to enter text.	Click here to enter text.

Section 3: Evaluate | Use the space below to describe how the agency will measure program effectiveness.

What are the outcome measures?	Click here to enter text.
How will you evaluate whether the outcomes identified above are achieved?	Click here to enter text.
What is the timeline for when you will be able to identify the impact of the program on the outcomes identified?	Click here to enter text.

Budget Office to Complete:	Proven Effective	Promising	Theory-Based