Implementation of Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) in Bangkok Metropolitan Administration

Abstract

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) received significant attention in 2023, emerging as a key policy campaigned for at both national and local government levels, including the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). ZBB is a budgeting system that requires agencies to plan their budgets without referencing prior or current year allocations, establishing a "zero base," to the next year’s budget plan. The primary objectives of ZBB are to encourage agencies to "rethink" and "re-evaluate" their projects or activities, to be able to provide a clear justification for every project/activity, as well as to prioritize them. Theoretically, ZBB promotes more efficient and effective budget management within organizations.

This is a descriptive research that aims to explore the initial experiences of implementing ZBB in the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, which is the first public agency in Thailand to apply this budget format under the leadership of Associate Professor Dr. Chadchart Sittipunt, the Governor of Bangkok. Additionally, the study examines some initial challenges and obstacles encountered the BMA during its ZBB implementation. This research utilized qualitative research methods, including documentary research and semi-structured in-depth interviews with key administrators and practitioners involved in the application of ZBB within the BMA. The study finds that the BMA has adopted ZBB in a hybrid model, integrating it with the existing performance-based budgeting (PBB) system. Besides, ZBB was applied specifically to the "Other Expenditures" category, and 27 budgeting criteria were removed to enable the adoption of ZBB. This utilization of ZBB helped the BMA save approximately 240.9 million baht from its budget. Nonetheless, several issues were identified during the first year of ZBB implementation. This includes (1) legal and regulatory constraints related to BMA's budgeting framework, (2) limited understanding and adaptability among personnel, (3) internal communication challenges, (4) technological and innovation-related limitations, and (5) increased administrative workload and tight timelines in the budgeting process.