The Federal budget process is comprised of three phases: Formulation, Presentation (to Congress), and Execution. To learn more about each phase, visit: Federal Budget Concepts & Budget Process Adobe Acrobat PDF File. (from the Office of Management and Budget website).

From the beginning of the Formulation phase of a budget, to the end the Execution phase, takes almost three years. To see how this process typically unfolds at the National Institutes of Health, take a look at this chart: Budget Process Chart Adobe Acrobat PDF File.

It is important to consider the effect of inflation when building budgets. To learn more about the inflationary indexes NIH considers during all phases of the budget process (including the latest updates), go to our Price Indexes page.