The Short Answer 1. Don’t allow this to be an excuse. The work can proceed in parallel. The states shouldn’t wait for the federal government. Counties shouldn’t wait for the state. Cities shouldn’t wait for the counties. And communities shouldn’t wait for any of the above. 2. Don’t give up … Read More
1.12 How do we keep this simple?
The Short Answer 1. Always go back to results, common ground end conditions of well-being that people care about. When people are clear about the ends, it clarifies the conflicts about means. There is not one right answer. Everyone can contribute. 2. Return to the simple questions that drive this work: … Read More
1.13 How long should all of this take?
The Short Answer One hour and 15 minutes. Full Answer Some of the answer depends on who is doing the work, the partners at the table, and whether there are paid staff devoted to the tasks. What is reasonable to expect in the first year? If you have a pre-existing … Read More
2.1 What are the basic ideas of results-based decision making and budgeting?
The Short Answer 1. Start with ends and work backward to means. 2. Use data to drive decisions, not just measure success or failure after the fact. 3. Results are desired conditions of well-being, the ends we want, for children, adults families and communities 4. Improving results means getting from … Read More
2.2 What is the difference between population well-being (Results-Based Accountability) and client well-being (performance accountability) and why is it important?
The Short Answer 1. Population accountability is accountability for the well-being of a whole population in a geographic area. Population accountability is bigger than any one program or agency or one level of government. In fact, it’s bigger than government. It requires the whole community, public and private partners to make a … Read More
2.3 How do we get people to understand the difference between indicators and performance measures?
The Short Answer Indicators are about whole populations. Performance measures are about client populations. Indicators are usually about peoples’ lives, whether or not they receive any service. Performance measures are usually about people who receive service. Indicators are proxies for the well-being of whole populations, and necessarily matters of approximation and compromise. Performance measures … Read More
2.4 What are some populations for which results can be developed and used?
he Short Answer 1. Populations and subpopulations can be defined by geography or by both characteristic and geography. 2. Examples of populations include: all children in the county, all children 0 to 5 in the county, all children 0 to 5 in the Fairfield neighborhood of the county; all elders … Read More
2.5 How do we select results for a given population?
The Short Answer 1. Results are plain language conditions of well-being for children, adults, families and communities. 2. Choosing results is a political process more than a technical process. You are looking for a set of statements which are understandable to the public, say something important about the well-being of … Read More
2.6 How do we identify results in terms of everyday experience?
The Short Answer 1. Ask people how they experience the results (e.g. healthy and safe children) in their every day lives. What do we see, hear, feel? For example, for safe children, we might observe children wearing bike helmets. 2. Experience” is the bridge between plain language results and indicators. … Read More
2.7 How do we select indicators for a result?
The Short Answer 1. Start by assessing the result in terms of everyday experience, what we see hear, or feel about children ready for school or stable families. 2. Brainstorm a list of candidate indicators. Each entry is a data statement, e.g. % of children reading at grade level, rate … Read More