United Nations University
Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability
Result Based Project Design
Jonghwi Park
Head of Innovation and Education

• Warming up
• What is “Result-Based Project Design and Management (RBM)”
• Applying RBM to my project design
All the materials in this lecture were adopted from:
UNDG. (2011). Result-based Management Handbook. (Part 1 and Part 2 only, p.1-22).
https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/UNDG-RBM-Handbook-2012.pdf
Outline

I. Warming up

What do you think are the most important components of the project design and
implementation?
Write them in the chat.
Warming up

• Project A aimed to promote girls secondary education in Myanmar.
What is the problem with this project report?
Source: UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) https://uis.unesco.org/en/country/mm

• Project B is a 2-year project that aimed at building capacity of community
leaders in addressing local climate change issues. It successfully meet the
project goals through the following outputs:
1. 1 capacity building programme developed.
2. 30 community leaders trained.
3. 82% of the trained community leaders said the training was useful and relevant.
What is the problem with this project report?

II. What is RBM?

• A project/programme management strategy (used at UN)
• Includes and views all actors contributing directly or
indirectly to achieving a set of results (e.g. national gov’t,
implementers, beneficiaries, NGOs, UN entities, etc.)
• Ensures that your activities contribute to the desired
results (outputs, outcomes and higher-level goals or
impact)
• uses information and evidence on actual results to
inform decision making on the design of programmes
What is Result Based Project Design and Management (RBM)?

• To measure changes in lives, not just a short-term output
• To include all the stakeholders (inclusive)
• To make all the stakeholders accountable
Why RBM?

RBM Cycle

What is the most pressing issues that you would like to solve?
• Understand the target beneficiaries
• Analyze the readiness of all stakeholders
• Data-oriented, evidence-based!
What do you want to change?
• Skill? Knowledge? Attitude?
• Collective results of those changes? Institutional?
Setting the vision

Setting the vision: Example
The example was taken from student assignments submitted by Kovavisarach, Zhu, Boateng and Iwamoto (2021) in a post graduate course of UNU IAS.

• UN official SDG data portal: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/dataportal
• The most recent UN report: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/
• World Bank Data: https://data.worldbank.org/
• World Development Indicators (by World Bank)
https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators - useful
to choose certain countries and export data
• Specific SDGs: visit the secretariat UN agencies’ website
•UNHCR (https://www.unhcr.org/asia/figures-at-a-glance.html)
•UNESCO (http://uis.unesco.org/)
•ITU (https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx )
Data informed project design

RBM result chain

Defining the result map and framework
Inputs
• Funding
• HR training
Activities
• Conducting a
training
• Developing a
curriculum/mat
erials
Outputs
• Changes in
skills
• New products
• Publications
(Youtube
videos,
websites, etc.)
Outcomes
• Changes in
behaviors &
attitudes
• Institutional
changes
• Policy, social
actions,
processes
Impact
• Changes in
people’s lives
• SDGs

Result framework
Impact: changes in conditions
Outcomes: changes in capacity and performance of the primary duty-bearers
Outputs: What all implementers produce
Activities: what all implementers do
Inputs: what all stakeholders invest in

Result framework: Example – Reducing ALDFG to protect the ocean
Impact: changes in conditions
Reduced amount of ALDFG (Abandoned, Lost or Discarded Fishing Gear) in the Philippines
Outcomes: changes in capacity and performance of the primary duty-bearers
• Enhanced understanding of the impact of ALDFG among small scale fishery community
• Enhanced understanding of the causes of ALDFG among small scale fishery community
• Actions taken to reduce the ALDFG
Outputs: What all implementers produce
• Manuals and video on ALDFG for fishery community
• User-friendly apps to monitor the amount of ALDFG
• Revised marine policy
Activities: what all implementers do
• Policy development workshop and consultation
• 3 training workshops for fishery community leaders
• 30 field trips with the fishers
Inputs: what all stakeholders invest in
HR capacity, facilities, funding, technology,
Indicator 14.1.1 “index of coastal eutrophication and floating
plastic debris density”

How do we know it was successful? (or achieved the intended
changes?)
•Indicators
•Baseline data
•Target
Impact, outcomes and outputs. Now what?

• Impacts: Changes in people’s lives. This might include changes in
knowledge, skill, behaviour, health or living conditions for children, adults,
families or communities.
• Outcomes: Changes in institutional performance or behavior among
individuals or groups. High-level results.
• Outputs: Changes in skills or abilities, or the availability of new products and
services that are achieved with the resources provided within the time period
specified. Must be sufficient to achieve the expected outcomes
Three levels of results

• Impact indicators: Long-term visions (e.g. SDGs)
• Outcome indicators: These indicators measure actual change in
the target group or a situation, such as improved learning, improved
teaching, improved management, enhanced service quality, etc.
• Output Indicators: These describe project activities such as the
number of school leaders trained, the number of workshops, the
production of materials, etc.;
Types of indicators

• Measure changes, rather than inputs
• Example:
“Percentage of community leaders trained on the use of ICT”
“Number of downloads of the project app”
Output vs. outcome indicators
Percentage of community leaders who use ICT for the effective
communication on climate actions with community people
Percentage of app users who changed their transport means for last three
months
13.2.2 Total greenhouse gas emissions per year
3.4.1 Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease

III. Applying RBM to my project design

1.Identify the core issues and set the
vision (based on DATA!!)
2.Draw and define your result
framework (input-activity-output-
outcome-impact) – aim for changes
(not for activities) – Day 2
3.Plan for monitoring – what are your
indicators, target and means of
verification? (can be SDG
indicators) – Day 4
RBM Steps

Impact:
Performance indicator
(PI)
(disaggregated by
gender):
Baseline (B): Source and means of
verification (M):
Target (T): Assumptions and risks
Outcome N° 1:
Performance indicator
(PI)
(disaggregated by
gender):
Baseline (B): Source and means of
verification (M):
Target (T): Assumptions and risks
Output N°1:
Performance indicator
(PI)
(disaggregated by
gender):
Baseline (B): Source and means of
verification (M):
Target (T): Assumptions and risks
Activities: Actions taken or work performed through which inputs, such as funds, technical
support and other types of resources, are mobilized to produce specific outputs.
Assumptions and risks
1.
2.
Output N°2: Strengthened multi-sectoral collaboration and partnerships between countries and other organisations
Performance indicator
(PI)
(disaggregated by
gender):
Baseline (B): Source and means of
verification (M):
Target (T): Assumptions and risks

Jonghwi.park@unu.edu