RBM and the Results Chain

It’s worth re-visiting the two foundational principles of results based management (RBM) before looking at the results chain:

• Projects cause results.
• Results are more important than projects.

We’re going to unpack these a bit here and see how they form the backbone of ubiquitous RBM charts.

The Simple Results Chain

The results chain expresses the cause-and-effect relationship between a project and results. It’s a way of representing the statement: “Projects cause results.”

We use the arrow to show causality; that is, to show that something causes something else. So whenever you see the arrow in the results chain, you can insert the word “cause” or “lead to.” If you prefer, you can express it using “if/then”: If we do this project, then we’ll see these results.

The Expanded Results Chain

Of course, if you’ve seen or worked with RBM frameworks, you know that things get a bit busier than the simple results chain. Each of the two elements – projects and results – in the chain above gets expanded, giving us different components to consider. Even so, the results chain remains a way of expressing the concept that projects cause results.

Projects: Inputs and Activities

To begin, we expand the “projects” side of the results chain into two components: inputs and activities.

Inputs are the resources that we will need to carry out the planned activities. They include things like people, money, goods, materials, infrastructure, and technology.

Activities are the things that we do. Some familiar project activities include digging wells, conducting training session, distributing seeds and tools, forming savings groups, and setting up clinics.

In the results chain, and in RBM, projects include inputs and activities. According to the basic principles of this management approach, the projects cause the results that are important.

Results: Outputs, Outcomes, and Impact

Now we expand the second half of the results chain: the results side. Results are divided into three big categories called outputs, outcomes, and impact.

Outputs are the immediate results of activities. For example, the output of digging wells would be the number of functioning wells in a community. Or the output of a training session would be the number of trained individuals.

Outcomes are medium-term results caused by outputs. Examples of outcomes might be households with access to clean drinking water or the percentage of trainees who start a business or find a job.

The impact is the long-term, broad societal change that the outcomes lead to. For example, improved longevity or decreased malnutrition might be the impact of a project.

Putting it all together

Our results chain now reads something like this:

Inputs lead to activities, which cause outputs,
which cause outcomes, which cause the impact.

Another way of reading it would be:

If we have the inputs, then we can do the activities;
if we do the activities, then we will achieve the outputs;
if we achieve the outputs, then we will achieve the outcomes;
and if we achieve the outcomes, then we will contribute to the impact.

Back to the Principles

The terminology of the expanded results chain can make RBM seem confusing sometimes. It helps me to frequently revisit the simple results chain (projects cause results) and remind myself that in the end, it’s the positive changes that are happening for and by the poor that are important.