What is Results Based Management?

Results-based management (RBM) is a management approach, whose core focus is on achieving results. This approach has shifted the focus of practitioners in the development sector from activities to the changes generated on the lives of others through their intervention. If the purpose of organisations in this sector is to have a positive impact in the world, isn’t more important to focus on the changes we’re creating than on what we’re doing? This is because well intended interventions can cause very terrible consequences to the lives of people and the environment. So, well intended activities are not sufficient. 

The changed world created by a programme are the results of the programme. In Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) “language”, we can divide results in impact, outcomes and outputs. Therefore, RBM is when we manage a project focusing on achieving those three.

What are outputs, outcomes and impact?

There can be a lot of confusion about what exactly each of these terms mean, especially as they can be used in different ways depending on the project. Here is a short video explaining them in a way that, hopefully, you will never get confused about them:

These terms are key in RBM because, in this approach, we select our destination first (our impact, outcomes and outputs), the changed scenario we want to create through our programme, and then we decide on the route. During this route, using monitoring techniques and tools, we keep checking against a map, making adjustments as required to achieve the desired results (UN Habitat[i]).

Monitoring progress toward the achievement of expected results is key in RBM. We certainly don’t want to wait until the end of the project to find out that we didn’t achieve the expect results, right? By collecting data throughout the project cycle, we can check whether the project is progressing well and is likely to achieve the planned results or not. If not, we have time to make the necessary changes.

A well-planned project will ensure that the outputs that are being monitored are closely linked to outcomes and the outcomes, to the expected impact. So, by monitoring the outputs during the project cycle, we understand how the project is progressing. Also, it’s recommended to carry out a mid-term evaluation to ensure that our assumptions about the link between the outputs and outcomes were correct, and a more thorough end-term evaluation checking progress towards impact.

How to use RBM?

There isn’t only one way of implementing RBM, however there are some very helpful and widely used tools for it.

It's useful to have basic understanding of the Project Management Cycle, illustrated in this image below: 

Timeline

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The project cycle starts with an initial assessment, which is an in-depth analysis of the problem or need that you want to address. The Problem Tree is a great tool which can be used to support reflection on the causes and consequences of a problem.  After that, the Theory of Change can help you to understand where you want to get in the long term and how this change will happen. A diagram with the Theory of Change can help you visualise the path towards change. It’s important to also consider what others are doing which will or may affect the path, so that you complement the work of others, rather than compete with them.

The Logical Framework, or Log-Frame, can be used after to develop more objectively the different steps of the path and also including - in addition to impact, outcomes and outputs - the activities and inputs. This is also when you define the indicators, which are variables that provide simple means to measure achievement or to reflect the changes connected to a programme. The indicators will be the basis of the M&E Plan, which will provide you with the whole plan of how to monitor and evaluate the work, including when data will be collect, how and by whom.

Following this process will give you a strong basis for a programme, increasing your chances of success. Of course, this is only a short introduction to the RBM approach and some of the key tools used in it, but hopefully it has inspired you to learn more about it. If this is the case, I suggest you check WAGGGS's comprehensive RBM Toolkit, developed by Miguel Camacho (below). I'll also be very happy to answer any questions and direct you to more resources (reach me on [email protected]). 

 


[i] UN Habitat, “1.1. What is Results-Based Management?”, Accessible at: https://unhabitat.org/results-based-management/1-1-what-is-results-based-management

 

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