Results-Based Management for Government Programmes Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Government Programme Managers, Monitoring and Evaluation Officers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-GPS-027

Before you join: Participants should have experience working with government programmes, public projects, development initiatives or humanitarian operations.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Government programmes are increasingly expected to show how public funds, partner contributions and staff effort produce measurable improvements for citizens. Many teams can report activities and expenditure but struggle to define credible outcomes, select useful indicators, establish baselines, manage data quality and explain why results differ from plan. Results-Based Management (RBM) provides a disciplined structure for connecting policy intent, programme design, implementation evidence, evaluation findings and management decisions.

This course develops the practical skills required to design and manage results-focused government programmes. Participants build results chains, logical frameworks and theories of change; distinguish outputs from outcomes; formulate indicators; set baselines, targets and milestones; and create monitoring, reporting and evaluation arrangements. The course also addresses cross-government delivery, partner accountability, equity disaggregation, risk management, data verification and adaptive management. Participants learn how to use evidence to identify variance, escalate delivery issues and agree corrective actions with programme owners.

Teaching is instructor-led over five days, available in classrooms in 50+ cities or live online. Short briefings are paired with public-sector cases, group analysis, reporting simulations and structured application work. Participants work with realistic examples such as social protection delivery, health service access, local infrastructure, education quality and donor-funded development programmes. Each participant leaves with a reusable RBM toolkit containing a results framework, indicator reference sheet, monitoring plan, risk register and 90-day implementation plan. A certificate of completion is issued to participants who complete the course.

The course is suited to government officials, programme managers, development partners and implementation organisations responsible for planning, monitoring, reporting or evaluating public programmes.

What you will be able to do

  • Design a results chain linking programme activities, outputs, outcomes and intended impact
  • Construct a logical framework with clear result statements, assumptions and accountability lines
  • Develop a Theory of Change identifying causal pathways, stakeholders and critical assumptions
  • Formulate SMART indicators with definitions, disaggregation requirements and data sources
  • Set baselines, targets and annual milestones using evidence, policy commitments and delivery capacity
  • Build a monitoring plan covering data collection, quality checks, reporting and escalation
  • Apply OECD DAC evaluation criteria to evaluation questions, terms of reference and management responses
  • Produce a 90-day RBM action plan for improving an existing government programme

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Write clearer outcome statements and avoid confusing activities with results
  • Create indicators that managers can use for decisions rather than compliance reporting
  • Identify weak assumptions, delivery risks and evidence gaps before implementation problems grow
  • Lead more credible programme reviews with structured variance and corrective-action analysis
  • Present a practical RBM improvement plan to senior managers, partners and funders

For your organisation

  • Improves alignment between policy priorities, workplans, budgets and reported results
  • Produces more consistent programme frameworks across ministries, agencies and delivery partners
  • Strengthens data credibility through defined sources, verification steps and ownership
  • Enables earlier management action when milestones, quality standards or targets are missed
  • Improves accountability to citizens, oversight bodies, funders and implementing partners

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can explain RBM principles and distinguish planned results from delivery inputs and external conditions.

  • Results-based management principles distinguish activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts
  • Public value and accountability obligations shape government programme result statements
  • OECD DAC criteria connect relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability
  • Assumptions, risks and external factors separated from planned results
  • Results chains expose attribution limits within multi-agency public interventions
  • RBM roles assign decision rights for evidence, reporting and corrective action

Participants can construct a logical framework that connects policy objectives with measurable programme results.

  • Problem trees identify root causes, effects and affected population groups
  • Convert policy objectives into outcome statements using change language
  • Logical Framework Approach structures goal, outcomes, outputs, activities and assumptions
  • Draft result statements specifying population, change, direction and timeframe
  • Distinguish service delivery outputs from behavioural and institutional outcomes
  • Validate vertical logic through if-then tests and intervention boundaries

Participants can develop causal pathways and stakeholder arrangements for complex public programmes.

  • Stakeholder analysis maps influence, interests, incentives and accountability relationships
  • Theory of Change links pathways, assumptions, interventions and evidence needs
  • Power-interest matrices prioritise engagement with ministries, communities, partners and funders
  • Articulate causal assumptions vulnerable to political, economic or social change
  • Map contribution pathways where several agencies affect shared outcomes
  • Equity analysis disaggregates intended results by sex, age, disability and location

Participants can specify useful indicators that measure programme progress and results credibly.

  • Indicator reference sheets define purpose, formula, source, frequency and responsibility
  • SMART criteria test indicator usefulness, feasibility, sensitivity and timeliness
  • Select outcome indicators measuring access, quality, use and institutional capacity
  • Disaggregate indicators by sex, age, disability, geography and income
  • Proxy indicators address outcomes where direct measurement is impractical
  • Set indicator baselines, targets, milestones and data collection schedules

Participants can establish credible performance benchmarks and proportionate data collection arrangements.

  • Baseline studies establish starting values, data limitations and comparison groups
  • Target-setting methods use trend data, policy commitments and delivery capacity
  • Annual milestones sequence expected progress through programme implementation periods
  • Calculate denominator definitions to prevent misleading coverage and completion rates
  • Sampling plans balance precision, cost, respondent burden and operational access
  • Document data sources, collection methods, ownership and revision protocols

Participants can align workplans, budgets, risks and responsibilities with intended results.

  • Work breakdown structures connect activities, outputs, owners, dates and dependencies
  • Costed workplans align resource inputs with output delivery schedules
  • Risk registers record likelihood, impact, mitigation, triggers and owners
  • Assumption monitoring identifies conditions requiring management attention or escalation
  • Procurement and partner agreements embed result, data and reporting requirements
  • Budget variance analysis connects expenditure patterns with output progress

Participants can design monitoring systems that produce timely, reliable and decision-ready information.

  • Monitoring plans specify indicators, sources, frequency, responsibilities and reporting routes
  • Data quality assessments test validity, reliability, precision, integrity and timeliness
  • Routine data verification traces reported figures to source documents
  • Field monitoring protocols combine observation, interviews, records review and safeguarding
  • Dashboard designs present disaggregated progress, exceptions, trends and management actions
  • Escalation thresholds trigger corrective action when milestones or quality standards slip

Participants can commission and use evaluations to assess performance and improve programme decisions.

  • Evaluation questions distinguish implementation, outcome, impact and value-for-money issues
  • OECD DAC criteria frame evaluation scope, evidence and judgement
  • Quasi-experimental designs assess contribution when random assignment is unavailable
  • Mixed-methods designs integrate administrative data, surveys, interviews and document review
  • Terms of reference specify purpose, users, methods, ethics and governance
  • Management responses convert evaluation findings into assigned improvement actions

Participants can report performance clearly and use evidence to guide corrective management action.

  • Results reports compare actual performance against baselines, targets and milestones
  • Variance narratives explain causal factors, corrective actions and unresolved risks
  • Traffic-light reporting flags exceptions without obscuring underlying evidence
  • Decision logs record evidence considered, choices made and accountability
  • After-action reviews capture operational lessons following implementation milestones
  • Adaptive management adjusts activities while protecting approved outcome intent

Participants can prepare a practical plan for strengthening RBM arrangements in their programme.

  • Diagnostic review identifies gaps in an existing programme results framework
  • Prioritise improvements using feasibility, materiality, ownership and decision urgency
  • Sequence a 90-day RBM action plan with accountable owners
  • Prepare stakeholder briefings for agreement on indicators, roles and reporting
  • Personal application plans define transfer actions, evidence and review dates
  • Peer feedback tests clarity, feasibility and accountability of proposed changes

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Logical framework template
  2. Theory of Change model
  3. Indicator reference sheet
  4. Results-based monitoring plan
  5. Programme risk register
  6. 90-day RBM action plan

Who should attend

  • Government Programme Managers — responsible for converting policy commitments into measurable delivery results
  • Monitoring and Evaluation Officers — need stronger indicators, monitoring systems and evidence reporting
  • Policy and Planning Officers — develop programme designs, performance frameworks and implementation plans
  • Ministry Directors — oversee performance, resource allocation and corrective action across portfolios
  • Development Partner Staff — manage grants, technical assistance and government reporting requirements
  • NGO Programme Coordinators — align implementation plans and evidence with public-sector result frameworks

Skills and tools covered

Results framework designIndicator developmentMonitoring planningData quality assuranceEvaluation managementAdaptive management

Tools and standards

Logical Framework Approach, Theory of Change, OECD DAC evaluation criteria, SMART criteria

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course combines focused instructor briefings with government programme cases, small-group analysis, reporting simulations and structured application planning. Participants examine examples of weak and well-formed result statements, test causal assumptions, design indicators and review monitoring evidence. Groups work through realistic delivery issues such as delayed procurement, incomplete administrative data and missed service targets. Facilitated discussions connect RBM methods to participants' own mandates, reporting cycles and decision authorities. The final sessions convert learning into a prioritised 90-day action plan.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience working with government programmes, public projects, development initiatives or humanitarian operations. They should understand basic programme terms such as activities, budgets, workplans and stakeholders, and be able to interpret simple tables and percentages. Experience preparing reports, managing implementation or collecting monitoring data is useful. No prior formal training in results-based management, statistics, evaluation design or logical frameworks is required. Participants do not need specialist software, advanced quantitative skills or responsibility for a full programme budget.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand how government programmes or development projects are planned and delivered. Formal RBM, evaluation or statistics training is not required.

Bring a current or recent programme document, workplan, results framework or reporting template if you can share it. You may use it to test the methods and develop your action plan.

It is intended for officials and partner staff who plan, manage, monitor, report on or evaluate public programmes. It is particularly useful where several agencies contribute to shared outcomes.

Project management focuses mainly on scope, schedules, resources and delivery control. This course focuses on defining results, measuring change, assessing evidence and using performance information for decisions.

You can review an existing results framework, improve weak indicators and clarify reporting responsibilities. The final module helps you prioritise actions that can be completed within 90 days.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing about 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided between instructor input, public-sector cases, group work, simulations and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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