RBA 101 Workshops with Mark Friedman

Baltimore: June 4, 2008
Sydney: June 10, 2008
Melbourne: June 19, 2008

For registration information click on date.


   

Tutorials

 

Work your way through one or more structured study plans using the raguide website to learn about Results Accountability.  After each step, click the Back Button to return to the Tutorial page for the next step. 

Nine tutorials are offered (4 beginning, 2 intermediate, 3 advanced). Additional tutorials will be added over time. We would appreciate feedback about how well these tutorials work. Please write to xfpsi@aol.com with comments, suggestions or questions.

A. Beginning Tutorials

Tutorial #1: Learn the Basic Ideas of Results Accountability (5 to 10 minutes)

1. Read the One Page description of Results Accountability What is it? Why do it? (Tools D.6.)

2. Read the short answer from  What are the basic ideas behind Results Accountability, and results-based decision making and budgeting? (Question 1.1) and sections (1), ( 4) and (5) of the full answer.

3. Read: How to Use This Guide (Question 0.2), to see how the guide is setup and how you might explore it on your own.

Tutorial #2: Learn More about the use of Plain Language and Language Discipline (15 to 20 minutes)

1. Read: The Language of Accountability (Tools A.1.)

2. Read the description of the Tool for Choosing a Common Language (Tools A.3. ). Print out the two page tool. Fill in language choices for the first 4 ideas, to see how it works.

Tutorial #3: Learn more about the distinction between Population and Performance Accountability (15 to 20 minutes)

1. Read: What is the difference between population well-being (results accountability) and client well-being (performance accountability) and why is it important? (Question 2.2)

2. Take a look at one or two leading examples of a population well-being report card:  San Mateo County Children's Report Card: http://www.plsinfo.org/healthysmc/html/children_youth.html and Vermont Agency for Human Services: Community Profiles: ahs.state.vt.us

3. Take a look at a leading example of program budgeting using this framework: San Mateo County Outcome-Based Budget Pilot excerpts

Tutorial #4: Learn about the Talk-to-Action Thinking Process behind this Framework (20 to 25 minutes)

1. Read: The Leaking Roof (A Teaching Example from Everyday Experience) (Index of Tools A.4.) 

2. Read: What are the basic ideas of results-based decision making and budgeting? (Question 2.1)

3. Read: What are the basic ideas behind performance accountability? (Question 3.1)

4. Take a look at the POPULATION Talk to Active Schematic. Observe how the sequence of steps is the same as the Leaking Roof example. Click on any part of the schematic and see how it takes you to a description of how to do that step.

5. Take a look at the PERFORMANCE Talk to Active Schematic. Observe how the sequence of steps is the same as the Leaking Roof example. Click on any part of the schematic and see how it takes you to a description of how to do that step.

 

 

B. Intermediate Tutorials

Tutorial #1: Learn to identify and select performance measures for a program. (About 45 minutes). 

1. Read: Sections (1) and (2) of How do we help people identify performance measures for their program or service? (Question 3.7)

2. Read: What is the difference between measures that answer: "How much did we do? How well did we do it? and Is anyone better off?" (Question 3.8)

4. Go to How do we identify performance measures for administrative functions like personnel, budgeting, etc.? (Question 3.10) and review the performance measures for a few administrative functions.

5. Go to What are some examples of performance measures we can use for my program or service? (Question 3.11) and review the performance measures for a few services.

6. Do the exercise: Performance Accountability in 20 Minutes (Tools A.25.) by yourself and with one other person if possible.

Tutorial #2: Learn to identify results and indicators for a whole population. (About 45 minutes)

1. Read: How do we select results for a given population? (Question 2.5)

2. Read How do we identify results in terms of everyday experience? (Question 2.6)

3. Read How do we select indicators for a result? (Question 2.7)

4. Try these processes yourself or with a partner.

 

 

C. Advanced Tutorials

Tutorial #1 Learn to lead others in identifying and selecting performance measures (About 60 minutes)

1. Review Tutorial B #1. 

2. Read Sections (3) through (10) of How do we help people identify performance measures for their program or service? (Question 3.7)  

3. Practice the Technique:  A five step process that helps people identify performance measures, select the most important ones, and create a data development agenda (Tools A.23.) Do this by yourself or with a partner for several programs.

4. Practice this technique for a large division with many programs or for a whole agency. Look for composite measures which aggregate similar measures (e.g. customer satisfaction) across the division or agency.

5. Extra credit: Practice this technique for a service system involving many different agencies. Look for measures (e.g.  average number of agencies/offices each customer must negotiate/visit) that are most meaningful at a multi-agency/system level.

Tutorial #2 Learn to help others use results accountability to create the an action plan to improve child, family or community quality of life. (About 30 minutes)

1. Read   Exercise: The Whole Distance from Results to What Works (Index of Tools A12)

2. Print out the Whole Distance Exercise Setup Schematic and fill in examples for each step. Practice this with a small group if possible.

Tutorial #3 Learn to diagnose language problems and help people reach agreement about a common language. (About 60 minutes)

1. Print out The Language Trap (page 3 from the RBA 101 workbook) 

2. Read How to diagnose language usage (Tools A.1.)

 3. Draw the three column chart shown in the Language Diagnosis description. Get a document from a group that you are working with. Go through the document until you find the first 8 to 10 occurrences of any word (and modifier) from the Language Trap page. Enter the word in column 1, the content described by the word (i.e. an example of what the word describes) in column two and the related idea from the results accountability definitions (result, indicator, strategy, performance measure) in column three. 

4. See if you find instances of where one word describes two different ideas, or where on idea has two different labels. If you do then create the two column summary chart shown in Language Diagnosis which displays these relationships. Practice explaining this chart to someone without offending them. ("This is a great document, but it uses language inconsistently. It might be a lot clearer if you had a consistent language scheme. Let me show you what the problem is and how it might be fixed....") 

5. Print out the two page Tool for Choosing a Common Language (Tools A.1.). Practice filling it out completely with your word choices. If possible, practice with a small group.