Results Leadership Group

The National Center for Children in Poverty’s Project THRIVE recently featured Results-based accountability as a “Short Take,” a publication that highlights issues and practices of interest to state maternal and child health leaders and their partners building State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS). Project THRIVE’s goal is ” to help states strengthen and expand their early childhood systems, paying particular attention to strategies that improve services for those at highest risk and that help reduce disparities in access and quality of care to early childhood health and mental health.”

In Short Take No. 7, “State Indicators for Early Childhood,” Kay Johnson, Leslie Davidson, Suzanne Theberge, and Jane Knitzer outline how RBA can be used to develop indicators of child and family well-being, an approach already in use by several communities, states, and federal agencies. The paper recommends that each state ECCS initiative move toward greater use of RBA to develop indicators to enhance data collection and their ability to work with data.

Read the entire paper and its excellent explanation of how to implement RBA on the NCCP’s Web site.

Using Mark Friedman’s Outcome-based Accountability approach, the United Kingdom’s Department of Children, Schools, and Families has developed a new approach to planning and taking action to improve the quality of life and outcomes for all children (and other populations) and to improve the performance of specific services, agencies, and service systems. It provides a pathway for multi-agency partnerships and individual organizations to prioritize the outcomes they want to improve and determine what strategies are needed to achieve them.

The department recently published a Better Outcomes for Children and Young People resource, containing two new publications. From Talk to Action describes the outcomes-based accountability approach to planning and taking action to improve outcomes for all children, and Turning the Curve Stories offers a range of examples of councils using an outcome-focused approach to plan and implement services, and improve outcomes.

As policy makers and community members in Montgomery County, Maryland, consider, “How will we sustain our quality of life for future generations — and how do we measure our progress”, they are turning to results-based accountability for answers.

The Healthy and Sustainable Communities Project, launched this spring, was established to develop overall environmental policy goals and indicators to measure the county’s progress in achieving those goals. Featuring the use of the Results-based Accountability model and in partnership with the folks here at Results Leadership Group, the project illustrates a dynamic means of garnering community and expert input to establish a list of goals and indicators that policy makers will use to make decisions on county spending and programs that lead to increased sustainability.

Check it out!

Kudos to Stephen Butz, president and founder of Social Solutions Inc., whose work, company, and personal passions were recently profiled in a Baltimore Sun article, A Program of Conscience .

Social Solutions, a strategic partner of Results Leadership Group, was launched in 2000 offering a Web-based software program that can be customized for any non-profit organization to track results and measure accountability. Today, more than 2,500 organizations employ the software, from The Latino Coalition to Girl Scouts of the USA. The ETO Software generates a clear and accurate measure of impact to improve service delivery, earn more funding, and reduce the time and resources dedicated to tracking performance. Social Solutions is also the only software provider to have a Results Accountability reporting feature.

For non-profits using the software’s results-based approach, the benefits are tangible, one fan told The Sun: “Because there were no measures [before], people were kind of funding the activities rather than the outcomes …. Both government funders and foundation folks are beginning to realize that the focus can’t be on the activities that get us to the end, it has to be on what the results are at the end.”

Be sure to read the article and then check out Social Solutions’ blog. Congrats to Stephen and Social Solutions!

Results Leadership Group Seeks Qualified Full Time Deputy Chief Administrative Officer

The Results Leadership Group, a Rockville, Maryland-based performance management/leadership consulting and training firm seeks a full-time Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. The successful candidate will be able to work at the office with the ability to attend meetings and staff workshops when necessary.

Responsibilities for the position include:

• Managing distribution of online DVD and book sales
• Updating company Web site
• Managing open enrollment workshops and webinars
• Creating and tracking invoices
• Staffing workshops and trainings for senior staff at client sites

Requirements
Education: Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Skills/Qualifications: Strong knowledge of MS Excel and PowerPoint. Excellent interpersonal skills and customer service orientation. Self-directed individual who can work independently after being given initial instructions and guidance. Must have a “whatever it takes” attitude. In addition, excellent organizational skills and attention to detail are required. Passion for improving conditions of well-being for children, families and communities.

Compensation commensurate with experience. Generous benefits package included.

Please submit a cover letter and resume to info@resultsleadership.org.

EOE M/F/D/V

Advocating Results Accountability for budget processes across in towns across Connecticut, state Rep. Diana Urban compared the methodology with the successful course for an ocean-going ship.

“Start by choosing a destination, plot the course and use the plan as a reference while navigating in the unpredictable sea. If the ship moves off-course, change the plans to keep moving toward that original endpoint. With a clear end on the forefront of all actions, it’s easier to pinpoint where things go awry,” the article said, summarizing an interview with Rep. Urban.

Rep. Urban, who heads up the award-winning Results-based Accountability subcommittee of the legislature’s Appropriations Committee, has suggested the town of North Stonington implement the RA strategy in its budget-making process and set an example for the state of Connecticut.

Read the full article in “The Day” here.

This section was created for users of Results Accountability to pose questions that you think others will benefit from knowing the answer. In most cases, I will direct you to my book or DVD, or one of my webpages - www.resultsaccountability.com or www.raguide.org. I also encourage others to chime in, as it will only improve the dialogue in achieving measurable results for clients and communities.

The Results Leader Blog was set up as a fun, interactive way of sharing information, lessons learned and best practices for achieving measurable results for customers and communities. We invite our friends, colleagues and others to post comments and ask questions.

The authors of The Results Leader are comprised of various members of our RLG consultant team. We are not journalists, but rather motivated individuals in turning curves. From time to time, we may mix up the facts or inadvertently offend someone with our strong opinions or emotions around the state of the non profit and public sectors. Thus, we reserve the right to edit, modify, or end our blog as necessary.

Because this blog is an unfiltered, free-flow of information and ideas, the opinions expressed within should not be construed as the official corporate position, policy, or opinion of RLG. If you want to get in touch with The Results Leader, please write to: info@resultsleadership.org.