Overview

This web page provides information on the NGA Center for Best Practices' products and projects related to results-based management across policy areas as well as summaries of selected state activities, links to relevant websites and references to useful materials produced by other organizations.

We define results-based management broadly to include:

• Results-based budgeting & allocation of resources that directs investments to strategies that achieve desired outcomes;
• Strategic planning that moves decision making from vision to deployment of strategy;
• Continuous improvement processes that benchmark performance and promote adoption of best practices to achieve desired results;
• The use of indicators and measures of performance to demonstrate accountability and develop public trust;
• Strategies that promote cross-program sharing of responsibility and accountability for achieving shared goals;
• Consumer-oriented accountability and choice mechanisms such as consumer report cards, consumer information systems and vouchers;
• Pay-for-Performance mechanisms for organizations and individuals such as performance-based contracting, merit pay, and awards;
• Performance monitoring or auditing to verify outcomes and validate measures; and
• Program evaluation to identify best practices, determine cause and effect relationships, and measure impacts.