Introduction to

Results Based Management (RBM)

and
Results Based Planning (RBP)

Let’s talk about “results”!

Fungai A. Makoni
The Origins of RBM?
1950s – Peter Drucker's pioneering work/ 'Command and
Control' of the workforce gives way to 'Management‘

1960s and 70s - Adoption of 'Management by Objectives' to

motivate staff around ‘SMART’ objectives with established
timelines

1980s – Adopted vigorously by UK and New Zealand in the

80s; USAID's Logical Framework Approach (LFA) and GTZ's
ZOPP and the UN shift from line item budgets to budgeting
around objectives

1990s – Wholesale adoption by development and humanitarian

communities of Results-based management – is now being
adopted to direct and justify increased development aid

2000 + – Results-based budgeting

Why RBM?
Stated rationale/intended gains:

 Improved focus on results instead of

activities
 Improved transparency
 Improved accountability
 Enhanced performance orientation
 Improved measurement of programme
achievements
 Enhanced strategic focus
 No choice, it is an industry standard
 To get more funds!!
Results Based Management …
and Results Based Planning …
What does it mean for you?

Please try to explain…

Results Based Programme Planning:
Sum of interventions is sufficient to achieve
the expected result

Results Based Programme Management:

Resources focused on achieving expected
results

Monitoring and evaluation of SMART indicators

and targeted results used to
-- adjust activities and interventions
-- hold duty bearers accountable !
 Principle of RBP
Interventions must not only be necessary, but also
sufficient to achieve the expected result

If a problem is caused

by three conditions
Principle of RBP

All three conditions

must be addressed
So, since we are now talking about
‘results’, what is a ‘result’?

Want to try a definition…

 A result is a measurable or
describable change resulting from a
cause and effect relationship.
Two major elements in ‘Results’

Change Causality

Measurable Cause and effect

transformation relationship
• In an individual between an action
• In group and the results
• In an achieved.
organization “If-then” logic.
• In a society
• In a country
 “Results” in day to day life…
Output Result
Inputs Immediate (short-
term),
Water Satisfied (after having
Salt, condiments eaten this sauce, main
Cooking oil dish or meal)
Vegetables
Outcome Result
Meat, fish
Medium- term
Firewood
effect,
Working time,
improved physical
etc...
well-being (if I can
make sure I have a
Output balance diet over
The sauce, the time) Impact Result
main dish, the Long-term effect,
meal ‘quality of life’ (if I
can ensure I have a
balance diet for
more than 5 years)
Now it does get more complicated
because there is a hierarchy of
change in ‘results’…

Can you describe what are the three levels

of results?
 Hierarchy of Change

Long-term effects produced by a

Impact development intervention, directly or
indirectly,
intended or unintended.

The likely or achieved short-term and

Outcome medium-term effects of an intervention’s
outputs.

The products and services which result

Output from the completion of activities within a
development intervention.
Let’s talk now about the different
‘types’
of change we could measure
at each level of the ‘results’…
Any ideas?
 Types of Change

Changes in the lives of people: realisation of

Impact their rights

Institutional Change: values, laws –

Outcomes associated with institutional performance,
new institutions
Behavioural change: new attitudes,
practices

Operational Change: products and services

Output – knowledge, skills
‘Results’ are supposed to be
S. M. A. R. T.

Any idea of what S.M.A.R.T. stands for?

S Specific

M Measurable

A Achievable

R Relevant

T Time bound
In summary….
 How? What do we want ?
Why?
RESOURCES RESULTS

INPUTS ACTIVITIES OUTPUT OUTCOMES IMPACT

S

Effect

Funds, HR, Activity Operational Behavioral / Quality of

equipment, output change institutional life
etc. change

MEASURABLE CHANGE
A Typology for RBM: HIV & AIDS
 Focus Timefram
Results Like…
e
n HIV incidence 5-10 yrs
Impact th e
reduced
Human!

Institutions/
nResponse if
Outcomethe (HIV) brought Behaviours 5 yrs
to scale

Leadership if Institutions/
Outcome h enempowered Behaviours 5 yrs
t
Skills of Org Knowledge,
XX is
Output skills, abilities, <3 yrs
n strengthened if services
the
Train 250
Activity district AIDS <1 yr
officers
if
The results chain usually takes the form
of a more complex results framework,
preserving the levels…

e s u l t
Result

g ice R
v e l
t a
rpat e
c t L
S
I m Result Result
e su lt
m e Rvel
g ra m
m e Le
routco
ResultPO Result Result

Result Result Result Result

e s u lt
i ty R vel
AOcut put Le
i v
 Program inputs (resources) and activities
lead to output level results

Result

Result Result

Result Result Result

Result Result Result Result

 Combined Program Results (outputs) lead to
Program Results at the outcome level

Result

Result Result

Result Result Result

Result Result Result Result

Combined Program Results lead to
Strategic Results at the impact level

Result

Result Result

Result Result Result

Result Result Result Result

Results Language = Change
Language
Action Language Change Language
 expresses results  describes changes in
from the provider’s the conditions of
perspective people
 can be interpreted

in many ways  sets precise criteria

 focuses on for success
completion of  focuses on results,
activities leaving options on
how to achieve them
 Refining Results
Action Language Change Language
1. To strengthen the capacity of 1. Results language to
teachers to teach life skills through emphasise future condition
training on gender sensitive, child
friendly, learner directed learning
approaches
2. Take out information
2. The capacity of teachers to teach life relating to strategy or
skills is strengthened activities

3. By 2007, the capacity of all life skills 3. All teachers everywhere?

teachers in the 10 districts with the By the year 4000? Be more
highest adolescent HIV incidence specific
rates is strengthened

4. All life skills teachers in the 10 4. Bring the subject of change

districts with the highest adolescent to the front and shift from
HIV incidence rates have increased passive to active language
capacity by 2007 to teach life skills
to school children
 Examples
Action Language Change Language

Goal: to decrease the number Impact Result: Child mortality from AIDS
of children dying of AIDS and and related causes decreased from
AIDS related causes 100% to 40% by 2010

Objective: to promote the use Outcome Result: at least 80% of people

of long lasting insecticidal nets in endemic areas sleep under a long
(LLINs) lasting Insecticidal net

Activity: train 1000 teachers in Output Result: 2 teachers in 500 schools

participatory learning are trained in how to teach other
techniques teachers in participatory learning

Indicators: number of TV and Indicator: % of people who know that

radio jingles providing malaria sleeping under an ITN reduces the risk of
education; number of LLINs malaria; % of people who sleep under a
distributed long lasting insecticidal net
Examples

Suggested answers…

Action Language Change Language

Expand the percentage of 75% of people aged 12-24 are

young people, successfully practicing abstinence, maintaining a
practicing strong life skills, monogamous relationship or
including HIV/AIDS consistently using condoms by 2010

Ensure that all pregnant The percentage of pregnant women

women have access to using PMTCT services increased from
PMTCT services 40% to 80% by 2010

Improve the care and 90% of identified orphans and

support environment for vulnerable children in model districts
orphans and vulnerable are accessing social safety net
children package by 2008
In summary:
Principles of Results Based Planning
 Context specific causality analysis
 Hierarchical logic
 “If-then” causality between levels of results
 Collective accountability increases as you move up
the hierarchy towards outcomes and impact
 Uses change language to describe a specific,
measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound result
 AND… based on strategic choices that focus on
realization of human rights
 General problems in applying RBM?
 Difficult to apply causal logic, especially in relation
to complex, in-transparent or multi-faceted
processes
 Difficult to learn: RBM is not intuitive, not easily
'taught', years of usage required to achieve
common understanding and practice
 Difficult to integrate, e.g. integrating gender and
HR concerns into the results chain and in indicators
 Difficult to revise, and therefore often becomes
‘fixed’
 Difficult to measure: multitude of ‘indicator types’,
difficulties in choosing a reasonable number,
reliance on un-measurable indicators, seeking
visibility in indicators, weak indicator tracking
 Difficult to ‘attribute’, especially at Outcome level
(e.g. institution xxx, partner yyy is accountable but
More specific problems
in applying RBM?
 Tautologies in the results chain
 Results not logically linked
 Results not sufficiently specific
 Results are composites of several results
 Results don’t express change (e.g. support
provided to strengthen….)
 Results statements are too wordy
 Confusion between levels of results
 Indicators not logically linked horizontally, are un-
measurable or are results statements
Some references…

 RBM in UNDP: Overview and General Principles

 Results-Based Management in CIDA: An
Introductory Guide to the Concepts and
Principles
 Results-Based Management: An Overview, United
Nations System Staff College
 Understanding Results-Based Programming
Planning and Management, UNICEF, May 2005
 Results-Based Strategic Planning (RSP) –
PowerPoint, Work Bank Institute, ASAP Workshop,
St Lucia
 The use and abuse of the logical framework
approach, Sida, Nov 2005