Ray C. Rist The World Bank Washington, D.C. Results Management and Results Measurement—Both Needed to Achieve Development Outcomes Ray C. Rist The World Bank Washington, D.C.

Successful Development Requires An Effective and Efficient Public Sector But of course, easier said than done: Consider just these six dimensions and their challenges - Strengthening/Reforming Existing Administrative Systems - Building in Accountability - Providing Transparency - Delivering Fundamental Public Goods - Ensuring the Rule of Law - Allocating Resources Effectively

Results-Based Management Is A Powerful Tool To Support The Transformation of the Public Sector Shifts from an input-activity-output focus to a focus on the outcomes of public sector actions and initiatives Responds to elected officials and the publics demands for accountability Stresses knowledge and learning through continuous improvements

Emphasizes effective resource allocations Provides information to help answer the “so what” question of intended government actions Also helps developing countries assess if they are using their scarce resources most appropriately But recognize this is a political process with technical dimensions – not vice versa

The Power of Measuring Results If you do not measure results, you can not tell success from failure If you can not see success, you can not reward it If you can not reward success, you are probably rewarding failure If you can not see success, you can not learn from it If you can not recognize failure, you can not correct it If you can demonstrate results, you can win public support

But What’s Different About This Type of Management? Traditional management focuses on implementation This involves tracking inputs ($$, resources, strategies), activities (what actually took place) and outputs (the products or services produced) This approach focuses on monitoring how well a project, program or policy is being implemented Often used to assess compliance with workplans and budget

Results-Based Management

Ten Steps to Designing, Building and Sustaining a Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation System Planning for Improvement — Selecting Results Targets Selecting Key Indicators to Monitor Outcomes Conducting a Readiness Assessment The Role of Evaluations Using Your Findings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Agreeing on Outcomes to Monitor and Evaluate Baseline Data on Indicators—Where Are We Today? Monitoring for Results Reporting Your Findings Sustaining the M&E System Within Your Organization

Reasons to Do Results-Based M&E Provides crucial information about public sector performance Provides a view over time on the status of a project, program, or policy Promotes credibility and public confidence by reporting on the results of programs Helps formulate and justify budget requests Identifies potentially promising programs or practices

Reasons to Do Results-Based M&E (cont.) Focuses attention on achieving outcomes important to the organization and its stakeholders Provides timely, frequent information to staff Helps establish key goals and objectives Permits managers to identify and take action to correct weaknesses Supports a development agenda that is shifting towards greater accountability for aid lending

Moving to Results Based Management is a Global Trend Governments are improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery by increasing their accountability to their citizens (citizens as clients) Governments are setting outcomes for public sector programs with explicit theories of change Governments are now monitoring performance against these outcomes

Moving to Results Based Management is a Global Trend (cont’d) Governments are now evaluating why outcomes are being achieved or not Managers are judged by their programs’ performance, not their control of inputs Governments are establishing links between policy formulation, budget, and financial management

International Experience Evidence suggests ten key elements are essential to making a transformation: A clear mandate to do so Presence of strong leadership at senior levels of government Building a system that produces reliable information Evident rationale and incentives for change 5. Links to budget/resource allocation processes

Key elements (continued) 6. Involvement of civil society 7. Pockets of innovation and use of pilots 8. Keep the system relatively simple and user friendly 9. Explicit theories of change—clarity on assumptions of attribution 10. Monitor both implementation progress and results achievement.

Developing Countries Have Important Challenges In Building and Using Results-Based Management Difficulties in defining goals and strategies that link national, regional and local governments by sector Increasing weaknesses apparent in government administrations further from the center Weak or no links between performance and a public expenditure framework

Challenges (continued) Weak or no incentives for Government managers to change from wanting to control inputs (whoever has the most toys wins!) Government systems lack sufficient administrative and organizational structures to use M&E information for planning, management, and resource allocation decisions Lack of capacity to design, create, and maintain credible information systems

Fundamental questions (continued) What management framework exists in government to oversee introduction of M&E system? What has to happen for M&E information to be linked to budget/resource allocation decisions? Is M&E information being collected (inside or outside of government) to assess government performance on any dimensions? What is existing capacity – both institutional and technical?

Getting Started… Some Policy Considerations Single or multiple M&E systems Piloting (Or not?) Scope of introduction - whole of government - sector specific Who is the champion and what is the level of political capital available to expend Managing expectations on what can be delivered