Budget planning process
For each area of activity that forms Size and Shape, there is a set of drivers (why we’re doing this) and a set of outcomes (what we aim to achieve).
| Why we are doing this | What we’re hoping to achieve |
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Our budget planning process (referred to often as IPBP – Integrated Planning and Budgeting Process) was successfully introduced in 2019 in response to a need to generate a £20m target saving over five years in order to fund £300m investment in Estates and IT, as part of Sussex 2025.
A significant proportion of the Estates and IT roadmap is on hold in light of the current financial challenges although Council has approved a number of priority projects which are essential to the University’s operating capability.
This year is a continuation of this planning process and, of course, the need to generate savings is arguably greater given the challenges posed by the global pandemic, and the expected reduction in student intake from next year. We would, however, be doing this irrespective of the pandemic.
Council has set a target surplus of between £5m-£10m for the University for 2021/22 and ongoing. This is the minimum level required to be financially sustainable, be compliant and fund our investment needs. This translates into a savings target of £15-£20m.
IPBP (the Integrated Planning and Budgetary Process) is the framework that glues together the other projects and allows us to assess how close we are to meeting this target. We are currently assessing the results of the portfolio review which we expect will help close the gap. Even after that and reductions in central non pay budgets, we expect there to be a savings gap to be closed during our planning in the period up to July when proposals will be made to Council. Of course, we will keep reviewing numbers with the latest realistic information to ensure that any prosed action is proportionate to the remaining gap.