Reclaiming the Core of Results-Based Management

I believe that the Results-Based Management (RBM) has become a cornerstone of governance and development planning. It urges us to shift focus from activities to results—not just what we do, but the change we bring.

Yet, RBM is often misunderstood in practice. We emphasize ambitious outcomes and broad impacts—the sphere of interest—without adequately grounding our efforts in the sphere of control, where real execution happens.

RBM operates across three spheres:

Control – Inputs, activities, and outputs we directly manage.

Influence – Outcomes we can shape, but not guarantee.

Interest – Impacts we hope for, often driven by external factors.

While all three matter, our planning, monitoring, and evaluation efforts must prioritize what we can actually control.

Take Bhutan’s 13th Five Year Plan: the aspiration to become a high-income GNH economy is important—but progress depends on timely, quality delivery of outputs like infrastructure, services, and capacity development. These are within our control, measurable, and actionable.

Overemphasizing outcomes leads to:

Buzzword-heavy plans with weak implementation,

M&E that reacts too late,

Gaps in accountability and ownership.

By refocusing on the sphere of control, we:

Strengthen planning-execution alignment,

Enable timely feedback and course correction,

Foster actionable accountability.

Results don’t stem from vision alone—they come from execution. Let’s start by doing what we can do—exceptionally well—and build a credible path to sustainable impact.

Do you agree? What do you say?