Working towards implementation of results-based management in developing countries with specific reference to the public sector

Results-Based Management (RBM) is a system that should be incorporated into the culture of the department and its programme of projects including its operational systems, values and decision-making procedures. The employee’s skills and capacity should focus on achieving outcomes and impact rather than activities and inputs. In general, a result is something that arises as a consequence. The key principle in this article is to understand the three levels of the results chain, namely: outputs, outcomes and impacts. In essence, RBM is a shift from focusing on the inputs and activities to focusing on the outputs, outcomes and impact as a need for sustainable benefits. This requires a results chain to plan a clear logical process and manage the implementation. Theory of change refers to reasons why the planned projects’ outputs are likely to lead to the intended outcomes and how outcomes are assessed to be linked to with longer-terms impacts. The important element of building a theory of change is therefore to identify and analyse the contextual assumptions and related risk issues, which results in a framework and its casual linkages from inputs to impacts.