Results-Based Management (RBM) is a management approach that emphasizes the achievement of results in planning, implementation, feedback and reporting. After the first flush of enthusiasm in the mid 1990s, there has been some settling down and simplification of procedures and approaches but the underlying concepts have endured. RBM has six components:

• Stakeholders’ participation at all stages of the project cycle;
• Defining expected results;
• Identifying assumptions and risks;
• Selecting performance indicators;
• Collecting performance information, and
• Performance reporting and measurement.

The essence is that results are set in a manner that involves all concerned staff; risks are discussed and anticipated; indicators are set, and there is a steady flow of monitoring information cost effectively collected. It involves a different approach from the usual input-based way of thinking (e.g. we have $x and for that we can do a, b and c)

to a results-based orientation (e.g. what we want to achieve is establish sound governance systems in six countries etc, and to achieve this, what we do is d, e and f).

As you can see this asks for a substantial increase in collection of information and in the need to show what has been achieved. This puts extra pressure on field staff (and some of you may have already felt this extra pressure!). All of these directives come from headquarters and so may upset or contradict other efforts to decentralize to field staff.