Managing for development results (MfDR) is a management strategy
that focuses on using performance information to improve decision
making. MfDR involves using practical tools for strategic planning,
risk management, progress monitoring, and outcome evaluation.
Today’s results agenda has its roots in the
Millennium
Development Goals. When the international community agreed to
focus on addressing seven specific aspects of poverty, the
inevitable question arose: How will we know we have succeeded?
Milestones
At the
International Conference on Financing for Development in
Monterrey, Mexico (2002), the international community agreed
that it would be important to provide more financing for
development – but more money alone was not enough. Donors and
partner countries alike wanted to know that aid would be used as
effectively as possible, and they wanted to be able to see that it
was, in fact, making a difference. This threw into sharp relief the
need to measure results throughout the development process, as well
as the need to demonstrate that results were achieved. (See the
statement issued at Monterrey by the Presidents of the multilateral
development banks.) Soon afterward, the World Bank convened an
International Roundtable on Measuring, Monitoring, and
Managing for Results (2002), at which development practitioners
grappled with concepts, approaches, and practical issues related to
getting development results.
At the
Second International Roundtable on Managing for
Development Results, in Marrakech, Morocco (2004), more than 60
representatives of partner countries met with representatives of
bilateral and multilateral development agencies to discuss the
challenges of managing for development results (MfDR). Participants
endorsed a set of core principles on how best to support partner
countries’ efforts to manage for results, and agreed on a costed
and time-bound action plan for improving national and international
statistics – without which baselines cannot be established and
progress cannot be measured.
At the
Paris High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness
(2005), 60 partner countries and 60 donor agencies endorsed the
Paris Declaration, committing to specific action to further country
ownership, harmonization, alignment, managing for development
results, and mutual accountability for the use of aid. Please visit
Aid Harmonization for more information.
In 2007, the
Third Roundtable on Managing for Development
Results in Hanoi, Vietnam, focused on country-to-country
learning. Representatives from 45 countries, 32 development
agencies, and 30 civil society and private sector partners shared
experiences and charted a course for continuing efforts.
In 2008 the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness took place
in Accra with the participation of about 1.700 participants,
including more than 100 ministries and heads of agencies from
developing and donor countries, emerging economies, UN and
multilateral institutions, global funds, foundations, and 80 civil
society organizations. The high-level engagement at Accra helped
bring about the
Accra Agenda for Action which expressed the
international community's commitment to further increase aid
effectiveness.
Principles
At the Second Roundtable on Managing for Development Results, the
international community agreed on five principles of MfDR:
- Focusing the dialogue on results at all phases of the development
process
- Aligning programming, monitoring, and evaluation with results
- Keeping measurement and reporting simple
- Managing for, not by, results
- Using results information for learning and decisionmaking
The MfDR Core Principles form the foundation of managing for
results. They are applicable at all levels and within a variety of
interventions (national, sector, program, project and
organization). They influence the use of specific strategies and
tools at various phases of national and development
programming.
There is significant synergy between the core principles and they
should ALL be considered at every phase of a development
initiative, as the basis for deciding which specific performance
management tools to apply. They do NOT constitute a step-by-step,
sequential recipe for MfDR. For more information on how the Core
Principles work in practice please see the 1st Edition of the
Sourcebook on Emerging Good Practice in Managing for Development
Results.
Principle 1. Focus the dialogue on results at all phases
of the development process.
In managing for results, it is important to have a coherent
approach:
- ex ante, at the strategy and planning phase, when expected
results are articulated and their likely costs and expected impact
on poverty reduction and development are analyzed; during
program/project implementation, when monitoring is needed to assess
progress and identify necessary midcourse corrections;
- ex post, upon completion, when the results are assessed against
objectives and other factors, and
- also when sufficient time has passed to be able to assess
sustainability
Principle 2. Align actual programming, monitoring, and
evaluation activities with the agreed expected results.
When partner countries, development agencies and other stakeholders
focus on expected results and use associated results indicators,
they can better align actual programming (including financial
support), monitoring, and evaluation activities with the agreed
results objectives. Partner country priorities and constraints must
remain the starting point for development agencies’ support
strategies, and the development agencies’ planned operations,
analytic support, and technical assistance must be consistent with
the partner country’s development strategy.
Principle 3. Keep the results reporting system as simple,
cost-effective, and user-friendly as possible.
The indicator framework for managing for results should, to the
extent possible,
- be simple;
- rely on country systems, supporting capacity building to the
maximum extent
- be geared to learning as well as accountability functions;
- be harmonized to minimize system transactions costs and
facilitate comparative analysis
The partner country and development agencies should consult on a
short list of key indicators, preferably from a standardized list,
for monitoring progress and assessing the achievement of results.
It is important to take into consideration the chain of expected
results. Managing for results aims at improved efficiency, it is
therefore essential to be selective (and not to try to measure
everything) and realistic (in terms of feasibility and cost) in
choosing indicators. The results reporting system should remain
pragmatic; start with whatever baseline data is available,
including proxies; use meaningful qualitative indicators to
complement quantitative indicators, or to compensate if
quantitative indicators are not available; and include support for
cost-efficient measures to improve data availability and country or
project monitoring systems. The end goal should be a sound
results-based management system that includes specific,
quantifiable indicators connected to a timeline with baseline data
and periodic assessments of project and program performance against
defined targets.
Principle 4. Manage for, not by, results.
Managing for results involves a change in mindset from starting
with the planned inputs and actions and then analyzing their likely
outcomes and impacts, to focusing on the desired outcomes and
impacts (for example on poverty reduction) and then identifying
what inputs and actions are needed to get there. It also involves
establishing baselines and identifying upfront performance targets
and indicators for assessing progress during implementation and on
program completion. Missing key targets should be a signal for
partners to analyze together whether/why things have gone off track
and how they could be brought back on track, if necessary. It
should not be a trigger for the rigid application of penalty
rules.
Principle 5. Use results information for management
learning and decision making, as well as for reporting and
accountability.
Information on results should be publicly available. While one of
the goals of managing for results is to use results monitoring
information for reporting and accountability (for both partner
countries and development agencies), this may potentially prompt
behaviors that are overly risk-averse. Two approaches can mitigate
this possibility: (a) using reports on results in a positive way
for management learning and decision making, taking into account
lessons for better future action; and (b) when using reports for
accountability purposes, setting performance measures that reflect
the level of responsibility of the actor (whether a country,
development agency, ministry, institution, NGO, and other
stakeholders) and results that the actor can reasonably achieve;
this approach recognizes that even with good performance in
managing for results, external factors may hinder the achievement
of expected outcomes.
Areas of Action
In the global community, action on MfDR is taking place in three
broad areas:
1. Strengthening Country Capacity to Manage for Results. The quest
for development results begins with developing countries, which
must manage their development processes to achieve the outcomes
they want. They need to define the results they want to attain
and—working in partnership with development agencies, civil
society, and other stakeholders—design policies and programs to
achieve those results. Countries need information on which to base
this work, and statistical capacity and monitoring and evaluation
systems to generate the information. The role of development
agencies is to support developing countries in strengthening their
capacity to manage for development results.
2. Improving the Relevance and Effectiveness of Aid. For most
development agencies, managing for development results means going
beyond their traditional focus on input delivery and output quality
to focus on the achievement of outcomes—that is, a more explicit
consideration of the contribution that an agency makes to country
results. To this end, agencies are introducing results frameworks
into their cooperation strategies and programs, shifting their
internal incentives to focus on sustainable country results, and
developing reporting systems on results.
3. Fostering a Global Partnership. Some of the greatest challenges
in managing for development results can be best addressed through a
global partnership—for example, a global effort is needed to
support countries in generating reliable and timely data to assess
progress on the Millennium Development Goals and other country
goals; to strengthen international reporting mechanisms; and reduce
the burden on countries of multiple, agency-driven reporting
requirements and monitoring and evaluation systems. Through
partnership, the international community can make it easier for
developing countries to manage for results.
