01
Link line to strategic outcome
Not activity for activity's sake.
Made for people in Government
Justify a Budget Line Item So OMB or the Legislature Can't Zero It
35 min
Intermediate
Government
Tie dollars to outputs and name what breaks if the line disappears.
We'll use them to write your prompt.
Completed ✓
Make Your Play
Give us the situation. We’ll build the prompt.
Budget lines die on vague "administrative support." Reviewers need outputs, FTE math, and the cost of not funding.
Your answers save as you type.
What you'll do
This is the plan inside your prompt. Add your details first. Then follow these steps with ChatGPT or Claude.
02
Explain the cost drivers
Show the math.
03
Write the cut consequence
Make the trade visible.
04
Draft Q&A and breakeven
Anticipate the mark.
Make Your Play
Justify a Budget Line Item So OMB or the Legislature Can't Zero It
Tell us what the prompt needs to know
Start with the questions below. Each answer personalizes the playbook and builds the prompt you’ll use at the end.
Your situation
Account, amount, FTE, object class, prior year.
0/10000
What this buys: systems, grants, inspections, etc.
0/10000
Proposed reduction and reviewer objections.
This playbook was updated. Review your inputs before copying.
What you'll do
Check a step when you finish it.
01
Link line to strategic outcome
Not activity for activity's sake.
02
Explain the cost drivers
Show the math.
03
Write the cut consequence
Make the trade visible.
04
Draft Q&A and breakeven
Anticipate the mark.
Fill in the fields above to generate your prompt preview.
Assembled prompt
Beginner instructions
Fill the fields with this week’s real details. Incomplete notes beat invented polish.
Run the assembled prompt, answer follow-ups with specifics, then copy the deliverable into your own doc and verify names and numbers.
Advanced instructions
Add constraints the model can’t see: politics, licensing, cash timing, union rules, or family bandwidth.
After the first pass, ask it to attack the weakest assumption in the draft.
Use this when
Passback is coming, a mark is at risk, or you are writing CJ/APP justification under time pressure.
You'll need
- Line item details
- Mission outputs
- Cut scenario
You'll get
- A a line-item justification: mission link, cost drivers, and cut consequences you can use without rewriting it from scratch.
By the end of this playbook
You will have:
- A a line-item justification: mission link, cost drivers, and cut consequences you can use without rewriting it from scratch.
Examples
Progress 1 of 4