It always amuses me when students write proposals and boast that “no budget is required” or vendors pitch their products, assuring me that they will require “minimal investment.” Of money, maybe, but time is a valuable resource that needs to be accounted for in the calculations.
You could offer me new software for free, but the hours it could take me to learn it negate any benefits it would provide. The new process that requires no budget necessitates hours of meetings that divert staff time from other responsibilities. The offer for a free subscription loses its value when it takes a half hour to cancel at the end of the trial.
As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. There’s no such thing as something new that requires new resources either. Be realistic about what you are committing to invest when you say yes.
