Argues for the use of decentralized decision-making and information systems as the best aids to intelligent decision-making when determining funding priorities for human services. (Author/RH)

It has been argued that the answer to public and political demands for a more responsive educational system lies in the practice of accountability. The future implementation of program budgeting may offer an attractive vehicle for accountability. Currently, many California school districts use the California Educational Information System (CEIS)…

The design of an information system for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is described in this the first in a series of six reports. The system is designed to support educational accountability--the concept that schools and educators should be held responsible (accountable) for educational results. The information system represents…

The basic data requirements for making educational program decisions in an accountability-oriented setting with the school principal as the focal point of the process are detailed in this report. The emphasis is on collecting and disseminating data now available within the school system. These data fall into six categories: school descriptors,…

This document presents papers and discussions from an OECD-sponsored conference of international experts on forecasting and planning techniques. The 15 papers discuss the need for planning and its relationship to some major feature of society such as technology, information systems, organizations, government, or social change. In addition to…

The functional design of the information system proposed for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is detailed in this report. The design specifies input data, processing, file formats, and report formats. The implemented system will provide information in four general areas: personnel, program/budget, educational results, and community…

Management science is defined as the basic process or function of rational decision making. The concept of educational research is expanded to include use of new management techniques developed by the private sector which are adaptable to decision making in the total educational context. Four trends in the field of educational research are briefly…

Where research activities operate under "fixed" budgetary and resource conditions, allocations of funds must be carefully planned for effective program implementation. Although relatively little information is available on how small research units could use the principles of programed budgeting, a technique for ascertaining program…

This conference on program budgeting was planned to accomplish four objectives: (1) provide a basic orientation for academic administrators by defining program budgeting, and explaining how it might help their institutions; (2) interpret the vocabulary of systems analysis; (3) identify the different levels of involvement at which an institution…

Six reports concerning design of an information system to aid the Los Angeles city schools in implementing accountability and program budgeting are summarized. Extensive interviewing and system analysis led to focusing decisionmaking and accountability on the individual school principal, unlike the present centralized decisionmaking and resource…

Planning, Programming, Budgeting Systems (PPBS) provide a new approach to the optimum use of limited school system resources in improving the learning process. In conjunction with Management Information Systems (MIS), PPBS is a tool which school officials can use to communicate to taxpayers the necessity for current school programs and the manner…

Federal guidelines and pressures for accountability make it essential that more and better planning management information be made available concerning the delivery of day care services. With the existence of a fully developed and operational system, planning and management of resource allocations can be made that can lead to an improved quality…

Collected here are 55 papers presented at the 1975 College and University Systems Exchange (CAUSE) national conference. Papers are organized to reflect the activities at the conference: 10 papers are grouped in the section for management presentations, 10 papers are included in technical presentations, and 12 papers are included in mixed…

These proceedings include 83 papers and 24 abstracts of papers contributed at the AIR's Annual Forum. Practitioners at two- and four-year colleges and universities, public and private (teachers, department chairmen, and administrators) as well as theoreticians are addressed. Papers fall into 13 categories: (1) presidential address and theme…