What’s all the hype about Results-Based Accountability?
When I was a Health Educator, I worked with a team to launch a Positive Community Norms (PCN) campaign to highlight how most students choose not to use substances. Afterwards, I presented to a Community Advisory Committee on the campaign and remember someone asking, “Would you do it again?” I said, “yes!” and shared how well it was received by news stations who picked up our billboards for news segments. And the advisory committee member asked, “But how do you know it made a difference for kids?” I paused...and didn’t have a great answer.
One way to avoid this situation is to use a framework called Results-Based Accountability (RBA), an evidence-based tool I’ve been training on throughout Northeast Minnesota as one option to consider.
RBA starts at the end and works its way backwards. The first step is to collaboratively develop a results statement identifying the population, geography, and condition of wellbeing you want to work towards. Then, you brainstorm potential indicators—data points that measure progress at the population level. RBA includes a scoring process to select the fewest, most powerful indicators to move forward with a turn the curve activity. You graph your indicator over time and ask 5 questions to better understand the story behind the data:
If we do nothing, are we okay with where we are headed?
What may be pushing the numbers up? What may be pushing the numbers down?
What are the root causes that should be prioritized to effectively “turn the curve” and reverse this trendline?
Who are the partners that play a role in turning the curve?
What initiatives might work to turn the curve?
Next, the RBA framework leads you through selection criteria for initiatives that your group would like to focus on. But it doesn’t stop there. We’re going to want to know:
How much did we do?
How well did we do it?
Is anyone better off?
These are the three types of performance measures used in RBA. While indicators track population level data, performance measures assess the effort and effect of our initiative. RBA provides scoring criteria for your group to select performance measures to help track progress and impact.
Image from Clear Impact - check out their website for more resources!
Had I used RBA for my PCN campaign, I could have shared how much we did (# billboards, # swag items distributed, social media posts created), how well we did it (# of views on the billboards, # of media requests to cover the campaign, number of interactions on social media posts), and if anyone was *better off (# of parents who talked to their kids about substance use, # of students who felt affirmed in their decision not to use substances). I also could have pointed to population level data we are tracking over time to show how we hope to turn the curve.
Interested in learning more about RBA or having someone facilitate this process with your group? Reach out to Stephany (medinas@communityhealthboard.org).
*While “better off” measures are most important, they can also be the hardest to measure.