This report delves into the tactics or “games" used by participants in the budget process to secure more resources. The most common such game is "The Padding Play", where budget requestors inflate their needs. The report describes many other games budget officers encounter….and how to contain and even defeat these gameplay tactics. This can be done by creating a budget process and decision-making environment that is inhospitable to gameplay and by employing countermeasures against specific kinds of games.
- Publication date: January 2025