thinking tool.

Credit: Mark Friedman 

Note: Portions of this post were drafted with the support of ChapGPT on 9 June 2025.

Summary:

Results-Based Accountability (RBA), also known as Outcomes-Based Accountability (OBA), is a performance management framework developed by Mark Friedman. It helps organizations and communities improve the lives of children, families, and communities by focusing on measurable results.

RBA distinguishes between population-level outcomes (for communities) and performance measures (for programs or agencies), using data and structured thinking to drive decision-making and resource allocation.

RBA is widely used in government, nonprofit, and social service sectors because of its clarity, flexibility, and focus on results that matter.

Concept detail:

The central question in RBA is: “Are we making a difference?”  Rather than just tracking what’s being done (activities), RBA focuses on the results or outcomes those actions are achieving. The central tenants of RBA include:

• Start with ends, work backward to means

  • Begin by identifying the desired results (e.g., “All children are healthy”) and then determine how to get there.

• Distinguish between population accountability and performance accountability

  • Population accountability looks at outcomes for whole communities.

  • Performance accountability focuses on how well individual programs or agencies are functioning.

• Use plain language and keep it simple

  • Avoid jargon to ensure everyone, including non-experts, can understand and engage.

• Use three key performance questions

  • For every program:

    1. How much did we do?

    2. How well did we do it?

    3. Is anyone better off?

• Focus on measurable indicators

  • Track a small number of meaningful data points to gauge progress, not an overwhelming list of metrics.

• Engage partners and stakeholders

  • Collaboration across sectors (government, nonprofits, community members) is essential to achieve community-wide results.

• Use “Turn the Curve” thinking

  • Identify trends in key indicators and implement actions to improve those trends over time.

• Separate accountability for populations from accountability for programs

  • Recognize that individual programs alone cannot be held responsible for large-scale societal outcomes.

• Avoid blame; focus on contribution

  • Emphasize collaboration and shared responsibility over fault-finding.

• Embed continuous improvement and use data to learn and adapt strategies regularly, rather than relying on static plans.

Real world application:

Case Study:  Early Childhood Initiative – “First 5 LA” (Los Angeles County, California)

Los Angeles County’s First 5 LA is a public agency funded by tobacco taxes to improve outcomes for children aged 0–5. It adopted Results-Based Accountability to better evaluate the impact of its investments in early childhood development. RBA was applied in the following manner:

1. Define the Desired Result (Population-Level):

“All children in Los Angeles County are healthy, safe, and ready to learn by kindergarten.”

This is a population-level result because it applies to all children in the region, not just those in specific programs.

2. Identify Key Indicators:

First 5 LA selected a small number of indicators to track overall progress:

• % of children born at a healthy birth weight

• % of children receiving timely developmental screenings

• % of children ready for kindergarten

These indicators helped them monitor whether conditions for children across the county were improving.

3. Program Performance Accountability:

For each funded program (e.g., parenting workshops, home visiting services), they used RBA’s three key performance questions:

• How much did we do?
  e.g., Number of home visits completed

• How well did we do it?
  e.g., % of visits completed on schedule

• Is anyone better off?
  e.g., % of parents reporting improved parenting confidence or skills

This helped First 5 LA evaluate the effectiveness of each initiative and make informed funding decisions.

4. Turn the Curve Thinking:

For example, when data showed a plateau in developmental screenings, they brought together partners to analyze root causes. They then:

• Increased provider training

• Launched a public awareness campaign

• Strengthened referral networks

These steps helped improve screening rates, effectively “turning the curve.”

5. Outcome:

• First 5 LA used RBA to prioritize investments, cut underperforming programs, and scale effective ones.

• They improved accountability across hundreds of funded partners while keeping the focus on real outcomes for children, not just outputs.

6: Summary:

• It shows the dual application of RBA: population and performance accountability.

• It highlights data-informed action and continuous improvement.

• It demonstrates collaboration across systems (public health, education, nonprofits).