Which capital projects should you fund this year, and which should have the greatest priority? Is it based on need? Or does the "squeaky" wheel get the grease? Creating a capital budget can be a very subjective and political process. VFA offers a capital budgeting solution that focuses decision-makers on the most important business drivers. We help you define and weight criteria for evaluating capital projects — then apply those criteria consistently to create a defensible capital budget that's in line with your organizational goals and objectives.

Incorporating both proven processes and analytic tools, VFA takes an innovative, five-step approach to capital budget development, which includes:

1. Building a Team - VFA will create a team consisting of key individuals from your organization to set goals and objectives; usually, team members include personnel from Finance, Facilities, Operations, and Executive Management.
   
   
2. Creating a Common Understanding - VFA will explain the facility assessment process and capital planning terminology, making sure team members are up to speed and comfortable with the program.
   
   
3. Defining Prioritization Criteria - As a group effort, VFA will assist the team in developing specific criteria and assigning priorities.
   
   
4. Prioritizing Requirements - By means of a series of workshops, VFA will facilitate the process of ranking facility requirements, emphasizing how those requirements tie into your organization's priorities.
   
   
5. Creating the Budget - Using the criteria established by the team, VFA will produce a multi-year capital budget, including capital funding alternatives that achieve your organization's facility and business objectives.

Designed with input from facilities managers and institutional planners, VFA's capital budget solution unites the management approach of collaboration and consensus-building with the science of hierarchical decision-making. This unique marriage not only helps the team make the best decision in terms of spending and long-term organizational goals, but provides a defensible rationale for that decision.