RBM+ System Origins and Introduction
Vladimír Kváča
The Community of Practice
on Results Based Management
• Established in 2009 by a group of European
Social Fund‘s Managing Authorities and
associated partners, with support of
European Commission.
• Aiming to find a better way how to manage
public funds like ESF.
• Developing „Results Based Management
System Plus“ based on reviews of existing
frameworks, scientific research and own
experience.
• We find the RBM System to be a part of the
„New Synthesis“ stem in the current public
administration thinking.
• New Zealand: Getting Better at
Managing for Outcomes and
Getting Better at Managing for
Shared Outcomes
• Treasure Board of Canada: The
Managing for Results SelfAssessment Tool
• World Bank: CAP-Scan
Managing for Development
Results Capacity Scan
• Asian Development Bank:
Readiness Assessment Tool Implementing a Results Focus
in Organizations
• EIPA: CAF
• Palladium: Balanced Scorecard
Hall of Fame award for
Executing Strategy
Our focus: programme management organisations
OP
Priority
1
OP
OP
Priority Priority
2
3
PMO strategy =
technical assistance
priority
Added value by leveraging
the technical assistance!
OP
Priority
1
OP
Priority
2
OP
Priority
3
PMO strategy = technical
assistance priority
But also widely applicable to any public sector organisation
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Results based management Plus?
With RBM System Plus we try to:
1. Address the overall need(s) for why a programme is in
place;
2. Act responsibly – being trustworthy, true to the mandate,
demonstrating responsibility in taking decisions;
3. Do the best possible job given the circumstances,
resources and constraints, consistent with the overall
mandate.
See Burt Perrin, public hearing at the European Parliament of May 2011, quoted in the COP RBM Sourcebook ch. 3.3
DEVELOPMENTAL /
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Biology/
ecology
•
•
•
•
•
SYSTEMS
THINKING
APPROACH
•
•
System and sub-systems in a hierarchy
Interactions give rise to emergent
•
properties
Interactions define boundaries with
wider systems
Wider systems represent the
•
environment
Systems must develop productive
relations with their environment
SOCIOLOGY
Control
engineering
(quality)
Negative feed-back: dampening
divergence of behaviour from a goal (e.g.
maintaining constant blood temperature)
Positive feed-back: amplifying deviation
from a goal (for better or worse)
The many relations between the part of a
system give rise to interacting positive and
negative feed-back loops leading to
unpredictabilty
Requisite variety
Complexity
theory
•
•
•
•
•
RBM
Tools
RBM
»plus »
Attractors
Non-linearity
Self-organisation
Emergence
Path dependency
Behavioral
economics
ECONOMICS
NPM approach
Rational
choice theory
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… and many, many, many more
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RBM Frequent misunderstandings
1. Results ≠ set the target, hit the target
Results = needs satisfaction
2. Programme strategy does not equal organisational
strategy… does not equal organisation operational
planning although there are links to be made
3. Measurement does not equal target setting
4. Operations can and should be organised in very
different ways
5. There are no simple solutions to complex problems,
and there are no final solutions…
6. There is no blueprint, no magical checklist to solve your
problems.
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About the RBM system – a warning
• No system can force people to perform.
• Systems CAN make it harder for people to get together,
discuss what they think they are doing and what they
should be doing
• Systems CAN also facilitate, rather than hinder real
dialogue – which includes a fair degree of contestation
• People make systems work, not imagined logics or
management edicts; hence enough time and resources
should be invested in them.
• Do not trust “good practices”, there are reasons why they
may not work in your context.
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Culture matters… even in RBM
• Culture differs across different societies
and organizations.
• The RBM System may be more easy to
introduce in some cultural settings, while
in others more careful thought needs to be
applied how to approach it.
• Each cultural setting may have
advantages and disadvantages when
trying to apply certain elements of RBM.
Culture
• We will discuss different culture settings
and try to show their possible
consequences to RBM System.
• We use the cultural dimensions as
identified by Dutch sociologist Geert
Hofstede.
• See http://geert-hofstede.com for more
details if interested.
Few notes to avoid misunderstanding
• Culture within a society (at the level of
individuals and/or organizations) usually
differs more than „averages“ of societies.
• There are no good or bad cultures,
however people tend to demean other
cultures, as they are hard to understand
when described with terms coming from
the other culture.
Power distance: what is it?
• „ expresses the degree to which the less powerful
members of a society accept and expect that power is
distributed unequally. The fundamental issue here is how
a society handles inequalities among people. People in
societies exhibiting a large degree of power distance
accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a
place and which needs no further justification. In
societies with low power distance, people strive to
equalise the distribution of power and demand
justification for inequalities of power.“
Power distance and RBM
• In the „low power distance“ this behaviour is more likely:
 The organizational culture is supportive of a results orientation. Staff
consistently ask each other: who are we doing the work for and why
does it matter.
 Staff are trying to improve systems and processes or develop new ideas
concerning what they should be doing and deliberately seek out
information that can help them in these reflections.
 Staff give each other instant feed-back concerning their behaviour. This
can be both appreciative as well as critical. Open dialogue concerning
the way things are done in the organization and how this affects results
is taken as self-evident.
• On the other hand in the „high power distance“
organizations:
 once the management is in favour of RBM, quick progress could be
made.
Individualism vs. collectivism: what is it?
• „Individualism, can be defined as a preference for a
loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are
expected to take care of themselves and their immediate
families only. Its opposite, Collectivism, represents a
preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which
individuals can expect their relatives or members of a
particular in-group to look after them in exchange for
unquestioning loyalty. A society's position on this
dimension is reflected in whether people’s self-image is
defined in terms of “I” or “we.”
• Open exchange of opinions is more common in
individualistic societies. Collectivistic societies tend to
express disagreement just indirectly, in hints rather than
clear statements.
Individualism vs. collectivism and RBM
• This dimension may affect this element of
RBM favoured behaviour:
 Staff give each other instant feed-back concerning
their behaviour. This can be both appreciative as well
as critical. Open dialogue concerning the way things
are done in the organization and how this affects
results is taken as self-evident.
• In individualistic societies the dialogue
may go faster, but with a higher risk of
conflict.
Masculinity vs. femininity: what is it?
• „The masculinity side of this dimension represents a
preference in society for achievement, heroism,
assertiveness and material reward for success. Society
at large is more competitive. Its opposite, femininity,
stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring
for the weak and quality of life. Society at large is more
consensus-oriented.“
• In more masculine societies there is tendency to rather
hide problems that openly discuss them, as „having
problems“ is a sign of weakness.
Masculinity vs. femininity and RBM
• In the more feminine societies this
behaviour is more likely:
 The making of mistakes is tolerated, as long as
lessons can be derived from it. If a mistake is not
seen as on opportunity to learn, it is likely it will
happen again.
• On the other hand in the masculine
organizations:
 the internal competition may be a good energizer for
progress towards RBM.
Uncertainty avoidance
• „The uncertainty avoidance dimension expresses the
degree to which the members of a society feel
uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. The
fundamental issue here is how a society deals with the
fact that the future can never be known: should we try to
control the future or just let it happen? Countries
exhibiting strong UA maintain rigid codes of belief and
behaviour and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour
and ideas. Weak UA societies maintain a more relaxed
attitude in which practice counts more than principles.“
• Strong UA cultures find it more difficult to accept the
complex nature of the world and prefer to believe in
detailed planning.
Uncertainty avoidance
• In the „low uncertainty
avoidance“ this behaviour
is more likely:
 Staff understand that “results
orientation” is not a
measurement initiative but a
continuous process of change. A
code of conduct emphasises all
of these elements.
Culture matters… even in RBM
• Be aware of the cultural setup. It may indicate which
elements of RBM Systems are more easy to introduce
and where you should be ready for problems.
• Corporate culture can change quite quickly. The role of
management is crucial here.
• Low power distance and low uncertainty avoidance
cultures may provide easier starting positions for RBM.
RBM+ System Key Terms
RBM plus system
• Programme management organisation
the organization that governs the way
programme financial means are used to reach
objectives as stated in a programming
document
PM organization may cross existing
organizational boundaries with the various
units distributed in various (parts of) separate
organisations
Managing authorities and Intermediate bodies
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RBM plus system
PMO in Lithuania
MA= Managing Authority
IB= intermediate body
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RBM plus system
PMO structure
Multi-business or one unit?
•
•
•
A central department can be
responsible mainly for
“steering/regulating” and for
support processes but does
not itself carry out any of the
primary process.
This means that other
units/departments act with
considerable autonomy,
within the framework of the
steering of what is usually
referred to as the “corporate
centre”.
These autonomous units are
referred to as “business
units”.
NOTE: the above picture is not a picture of how things SHOULD
be. It is just an illustration of how things may be.
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RBM plus system
• Constituents
they are referred to in various contexts as
end-users, target groups, citizens, clients,
customers etc.
the word “constituent” is used to replace all
these terms as “constituent”
• denotes a person that is entitled to expect
something from a (service delivery) organization
(they have a need)
• …and the organization is entitled to expect
something in return from the person
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RBM plus system
• Delivery partners:
 The PM organization uses a large portion of the
programme funds at its disposal to stimulate delivery
partners – project promotors or “beneficiaries” in EU
jargon – by channeling the funding to them to deliver
products and services that focus on constituent
outcomes
 These outcomes should reflect constituent’s
fundamental needs
 These delivery partners are assumed to NOT be
under the control of the PM organization, you can
only influence them
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RBM plus system
• Other partners
knowledge institutes, constituent
representative organisations, social partners,
etc.
they may not receive funding to directly
produce products and services that address
the needs of constituents, but still may
collaborate with the PM organisation in other
roles (e.g. idea generation, consultation, etc.)
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RBM plus system
• Legitimating authority
Those external stakeholders who can revoke
the mandate of the PMO:
• Ministers, parliament, the EC,…
• Their objectives therefore matter to the PMO
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RBM plus system
• The primary process (core business) of the PMO:
 closely connected to the mission - the reason the PMO
exists
 It consists of:
• the order process which takes care of the demand which in
PMOs refers to:
 Intake: processing the proposal (registering it, checking it,
appraising it, deciding on it, communicating the decision,
engaging in appeals etc.).
 once approved, the project will be “treated” until it is finished
(entailing processing progress reports, payment requests,
executing controls, answering questions of delivery partners and
supporting them in execution, running appeals procedures etc
…).
 after care is what is provided once a project is closed
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RBM plus system
• sales/marketing: this is necessary to generate demand (or no orders
come in) which for a PMO means:
 communicate about the calls and generate demand
 with R&D, researching and conceptualising demand for calls for proposals,
e.g. what should be in a call in terms of content and requirements, how
should it be communicated, via what channels should it be made
accessible (e.g. via a national contact point or regional contact points)
 The primary process is the reference point to decide what are the
support and regulatory processes
 The above functions can be reorganised into innovation (design the
value), stakeholder management (relate the value) and operations
(deliver the value)
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RBM plus system
INNOVATION
OPERATIONS
STAKEHOLDER
MANAGEMENT
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RBM plus system
• Support processes:
 To be able to run a core process, people and means
are necessary in terms of maintaining and permanently
improving the core process
 They create the conditions for the core process to
work:
• facility management (incl. maintenance of the work
environment and materials)
• ICT management
• HR management
• communications (incl. knowledge management)
• financial management
• quality and compliance management
• purchasing
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RBM plus system
• Regulating/controlling processes comprise
all activities relating to:
Planning (including longer term strategy)
controlling (if plans are executed)
evaluating (what is the problem)
adjusting (what to do about it) of the primary
process
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Group exercise
• Think who is involved in governing the way
programme financial means are used to reach
objectives as stated in a programming
document.
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Group exercise
 Position the persons, units, organisations on a piece
of paper
 Cross out those that you tend to ignore in managing
the programme.
 Draw line around those that you think should
collaborate closely with you to realise the objectives
of the programme
 Draw the internal structure of your PMO
 Now think about your primary processes: How many
units are directly involved in the administration of an
project?
• Be ready to present your work to others.
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