Results Based Accountability developing an outcomes based approach

Results Based Accountability “developing an outcomes based approach” Richard Morton

What is Results Based Accountability? RBA (OBA) is a disciplined way of embedding outcome based decision making into planning, delivery and reporting for projects, partnerships and communities. 1. Simple 2. Common Sense 3. Plain Language 4. Minimum Paper 5. Useful “RBA is just well organised common sense” “Its such good common sense I’m just surprised a man thought of it!”

Some Key RBA Principles • Well being of whole population not achievable by single agency • Services are responsible for benefits to their “customers” • Move quickly from talk to action • Start with ends then move on to means • Use results-focused report cards – not long prose plans • Don’t try to measure everything • Involve the public / your customers in what you do • Try to speak a common language – avoid the language trap

Two Types of Accountability POPULATION ACCOUNTABILITY For whole (and Sub-) Populations (e. g. All children in Swansea) • People in a place who share a characteristic • Individuals may or may not use a particular service • Well-being can not be achieved by single agency working alone PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY For customers of services (e. g. young people on Mentoring Project) • People who use same service or system of services • Can sometimes be almost as big as whole population • Service has responsibility for benefits to its customers

Why Does This Matter? It matters because we risk. . . • Not doing the right things to improve people’s lives • Not holding the right people accountable • Setting projects up to fail by making them responsible for things they can not achieve alone • Demoralising people and wasting money and time English National Indicator Set: “Healthy & Successful Adults” (Pop. Acc) measured by “% receiving social care assessment within 7 days” (Perf. Acc)

Keeping Accountability Straight Population Performance Population Outcome A condition of well-being for a population (or sub-pop) stated in plain language Families in Wales live in a safe community Population Indicator Measurable information which helps quantify achievement of population outcome Crime rate in Wales Performance Measurable information which helps quantify if a service etc works • How much did we do? Children in Swansea are born healthy Rate of low birthweight babies in Swansea • How well did we do it? • Is anyone better off?

Population and Performance Accountability POPULATION OUTCOME POPULATION INDICATORS Learning Communities % key stage 2/3/4 results % primary/secondary absences % NEETS Ends Contribution “School Friends” Mentoring WHOLE POPULATION Wrexham Communities First PERFORMANCE MEASURES % users improving attendance % users improving results % users with more positive views of school Means Courtesy of David Burnby & Associates

Population Accountability For Populations & Communities From Talk to Action & From Ends to Means in 7 Questions

RBA Population Accountability 7 Questions 1. Condition of Well Being Healthy Community 2. What does this look like? Healthy, Active, Longer Life etc 3. How can we measure these conditions? DD 1 4. How are we doing on the most important of these? Baselines & stories 5. Which partners? 6. What works to do better? 7. What are we going to do? Rate of life expectancy NHS, LA, 3 rd sector etc DD 2 Best ideas, new ideas, what works etc Action plan – what, by when and how?

Communities First 3 Outcomes 1. Prosperous Communities • % on income related benefits • % children in households on income related benefits • etc. . . 2. Learning Communities • Key Stage 2/3/4 results • Primary/Secondary school absence rates • etc. . . 3. Healthy Communities • % of children reaching or exceeding developmental milestones at age 3 • etc. . .

Cardiff’s 7 Outcomes 1. People in Cardiff are healthy 2. People in Cardiff have a clean, attractive & sustainable environment 3. People in Cardiff are safe and feel safe 4. Cardiff has a thriving and prosperous economy 5. People in Cardiff reach their full potential 6. Cardiff is a great place to live, work and play 7. Cardiff is a fair, just and inclusive society

Performance Accountability For Projects, Programmes, Services & Service Systems From Talk to Action & From Ends to Means in 7 Questions

Two Types of Accountability POPULATION ACCOUNTABILITY For whole (and Sub-) Populations (e. g. All children in Swansea) • People in a place who share a characteristic • Individuals may or may not use a particular service • Well-being can not be achieved by single agency working alone PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY For customers of services (e. g. young people on Mentoring Project) • People who use same service or system of services • Can sometimes be almost as big as whole population • Service has responsibility for benefits to its customers

Keeping Accountability Straight Population Performance Population Outcome A condition of well-being for a population (or sub-pop) stated in plain language Families in Swansea live in a safe community Population Indicator Measurable information which helps quantify achievement of population outcome Crime rate in Swansea Performance Measurable information which helps quantify if a service etc works • How much did we do? Children in Swansea are born healthy Rate of low birthweight babies in Swansea • How well did we do it? • Is anyone better off?

Performance Measures Quantity Effort Effect Quality How much did How well did we do? we do it? # or or % Is anyone better off as a result? % #

Performance Measures Types of Performance Measure How much did we do? (#) • customers served • activities • • How well did we do it? (%) common measures (e. g. % staff fully trained) activity specific (e. g. % on time, % fully completed Is anyone better off as a result? (%) • Skills or Knowledge (e. g. qualification) • Attitude or Opinion (e. g. towards school) • Behaviour (e. g. attendance) • Circumstance (e. g. in work)

Performance Measures Parenting Programme How much did we do? How well did we do it? # courses run % families completing course # families % courses assessed as delivered with fidelity Is anyone better off? % parents demonstrating improved knowledge & coping skills % parents reporting still using learning at 6 month review

Performance Measures Road Repair Programme How much did we do? # routes repaired # miles of road repaired How well did we do it? % routes repaired to deadlines % repaired routes passing H&S inspection first time Is anyone better off? % reduction in average route travel time % reduction in average route R. T. As per year

Population Outcome Contributed to – “Learning Communities” 1. Customer Population Children using a Homework Club 2. Is anyone better off? LR % increased attendance DD 1 3. Are we delivering services well? UR 4. How are we doing? % sessions delivered on scheduled date Baselines & stories 5. Which partners? 6. What works to do better? 7. What are we going to do? Schools, families etc DD 2 Best ideas, new ideas, what works etc Action plan and budget

Fitting Population Accountability and Performance Accountability Together

Fitting it all Together POPULATION ACCOUNTABILITY Outcome = Healthy children Indicator = % low birth weight Contributory Relationship PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY Ante-Natal Smoking Project How much? How well? # sessions % sessions to schedule # service users % satisfied Is anyone better off? # service users % service users stopping while pregnant Customer Result Alignment of measures Appropriate responsibility

Presenting Your Contribution Outcome(s) to which you most directly contribute Population Accountability Indicators Story behind the curves to turn Partners with a role to play Actions – what its going to take to turn the curve Your role – as part of the larger strategy Your programme & what it delivers Performance Accountability Performance measures Story behind the curves to turn Partners with a role to play Actions – what its going to take to turn the curve

Implementing Results Based Accountability • Leadership at a senior level • Ownership of a commitment to recognising success as better outcomes, not outputs • Championship by a senior project manager and from champions at different organisational levels • Partnership and multi-agency working. RBA is hard to implement where partnerships are not invested in

Resources • Richard Morton, Coactiva 07903272092, richard. morton@coactiva. com • Mark Friedman Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough (Trafford Publishing, 2005) • www. raguide. org – website including implementation guide and examples • www. resultsaccountability. com – website including papers on Results Accountability and links to other resources