Performance-Based Planning

1. Performance-Based Planning A presentation at the Ontario Sport Leadership Conference By Jennifer Birch-Jones, Planning, Performance Measurement and Evaluation Consultant jb-j@rogers.com May 9th, 2003

2. Desired Outcome • Increased awareness and understanding of performance–based planning and how to successfully apply it at different levels within the organization • Project • Program • Organization

3. Overview • Initial Thoughts • Performance-based Planning • Making it Happen

4. Approach • Introduce key concepts and terms • Variety of examples used • Share the wisdom of participants • Ask lots of questions, especially around jargon

5. Initial Thoughts • Performance-based planning combines performance measurement and evaluation concepts and approaches to strategic planning • Move away from reporting on how busy we are (activity-based reporting) to what difference we are making (outcome-based reporting)

6. Initial Thoughts • Requires an integrated approach to planning, measurement and reporting • Can strengthen the planning process by • Clearly articulating and agreeing on what success looks like and how to measure and report on progress • Making it easier to link and integrate the strategic plan with the operational plan • Adapting the level of detail to meet the needs of the users, e.g., Board versus Program Manager

7. Initial Thoughts • Emerging approach that can be adapted to fit the needs of your organization • Variety of approaches out there to build on, e.g., strategic planning, results-based management, balanced scorecard, outcome measurement • No one “right way” • Developing templates and best practices as we go

8. Initial Thoughts • Funders are asking for outcomes or results-based information but for sustainability, has to be a tool that the organization finds useful • Many of your volunteers will be familiar with aspects of approach through their own work / jobs

9. Initial Thoughts • Emerging thoughts based on collaborations and discussions with Judy Kent, co-author of Applied Strategic Planning (1992), Steve Montague, author of the Three “Rs” of Performance (1997), and working with a variety of organizations

10. Initial Thoughts • Performance-based planning and performance measurement are being used by a variety of organizations, e.g., • Sport Canada, Australian Sport Commission • Field Hockey Canada, Commonwealth Games Canada, Canadian Parks and Recreation Association, Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport, ESTEEM Team, Sport Policy Advisory Collective (SPAC) • Phased, evolutionary approach critical for building capacity and support

11. Strategic Analysis Where are we now? Strategic Framework Where do you want to be? Monitoring & Evaluation Are we getting there? Implementation How do we get there? Strategic Management Cycle Source: Kent and Wilkinson, Applied Strategic Planning, 1992.

12. Planning Process • Based on careful consideration of the environment (situational assessment), a strategic framework is created that includes • Vision • Values • Mission • Strategic Directions / Priorities • Goals • The operational plan then determines what needs to be done to get there, and may include multi-year and operational planning • The monitoring and evaluation component helps to determine progress and what needs to be changed

13. Planning Lessons Learned • Understanding the issue is key to setting the right goals but • strategic planning participants may not be the issue or content experts • time span for planning (a weekend) does not lend itself to more detailed analysis and goal-setting • may need additional information to understand the issue • High level goals and objectives can be vague and ill-defined, e.g., strengthen school-based development

14. Planning Lessons Learned • Some goals may take a number of years to achieve, so what constitutes early progress is not clear, e.g., increased accessibility for girls and women • May focus on the activity (the how) rather than the end goal (the what), e.g., consult with school associations, develop a strategy

15. Planning Lessons Learned • Goals often reflect the strategic directions / priorities identified during the planning exercise and other “core” goals are missed out during the operational planning exercise, e.g., a focus on increasing the number of women officials versus the ongoing goals of the officiating program • Operational plan templates tend to focus on the how, who and when, leaving out the link with the strategic goal • Goals define the “what” but do not tell you what strategies to use, e.g., many different strategies to increase revenues

16. Planning Lessons Learned • Without a clear articulation of what success looks like, can’t measure progress, e.g., how will we know if we have increased access • In the absence of strategic information about what difference you are making, Boards will get involved in the “how” • A lot of data is collected by organizations but often, very little of it is used

17. Performance-based Planning • Combines the strengths of strategic planning and outcome measurement by • Focusing on the “what” and the “why” before the “how” • Clearly articulating short-term and long term goals / outcomes • Using action-oriented, outcome-based terminology that describes “what change in whom by when”

18. Performance-based Planning • Identifying what performance indicators will be used to measure progress and success • Utilizing an integrated planning template that captures • goals / outcomes (the what) • strategies and activities, timelines, resources, responsibility (the how) • performance indicators (progress reporting)

19. A Performance Framework • Inputs Activities  Outputs  Goals / Outcomes • Short-Term  Medium-Term  and Long-Term Goals / Outcomes • Also known as a results chain or logic model

20. A Performance Framework • Maps out the “logic” and “links” of a project or initiative, e.g., • If we increase the fitness level of our Canada Games Squad, then … • If we reduce the average number of injury days of our Canada Games Squad, then … • If we increase the coach / athlete contact time of our Canada Games Squad to an average of 10 hours per month, then … • If we can get a 90% attendance rate of Canada Games Squad at training camps, then …

21. Key Concepts and Definitions • Inputs – resources dedicated to the program, e.g., $, staff and staff time, volunteers and volunteer time, supplies, ideas, innovation • Activities – what the program does with the inputs, e.g., develop a database of contacts, prepare an information package, contact local clubs and high school teams

22. Key Concepts and Definitions • Outputs – direct products of program activities, e.g., database of contacts, email notes, information packages • Outcomes – what happens as a result of the activity occurring or the output being produced, e.g., increased awareness by schools of of club-based programs

23. Key Concepts and Definitions • Sample goals / outcomes • By the end of the Level 1 refereeing course, 90% of participants will pass the written exam. • By 2007, 80% of the Canada Games Squad will have participated in at least 3 Jr. Nationals and at least 3 Cdn. Junior Opens. • Outcomes may relate to behaviour, skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, condition or other attributes.

24. Key Concepts and Definitions • Goal / outcome statements • Use action-oriented verbs that describe an end state rather than the activity to get there, e.g., increased awareness (end state) versus promotion (means) • State only a single end state or results • Specifies the expected direction and amount of change • Identifies the “reach” or the “who”

25. Key Concepts and Definitions • Reach refers to the breadth and depth of influence over which an organization wishes to spread its resources (Montague, 1997) • It includes target groups, clients, partners, stakeholders, etc. that are involved in achieving your outcomes

26. Spheres of Influence State Your environment of indirect influence e.g., Industrial sectors, the Canadian public, communities of interest where you do not make direct contact Behavioural Change Your environment of direct influence e.g., Inspected enterprises, people and groups in direct contact with your operations Operational Your operational environment You have direct control over the behaviours within this sphere Source: S. Montague, 2000.

27. Key Concepts and Definitions • Many, many different terms used for “outcomes”; • goals, objectives, results, impacts, effects • Time span varies for when outcomes occur • short, medium and long-term • direct, intermediate, final

28. Key Concepts and Definitions • Outcomes tend to get mixed up with activities (the why versus the how) • Guideline: If you control it or do, then it is an output or an activity; if you can only influence it, becomes an outcome

29. An Example • Situational Analysis: Since 1999, there has been a 20% decrease in the number of junior aged athletes (13-18) in our sport. Further analysis indicates that although we continue to have the same number of high school programs, there has been a decrease in the number of high school athletes joining our clubs. Since the high-school teams are a critical feeder system for our sport, we need to reverse this decline.

30. Performance Framework (Adapted from Steve Montague’s 3Rs of Performance, 1997.)

31. Developing the Framework • Once you have the long-term goal or outcome, can then develop the short-term goals, e.g., • Local clubs make presentations to “adopted” high schools on their club and competitive opportunities

32. Performance Framework (Adapted from Steve Montague’s 3Rs of Performance, 1997.)

33. Developing the Framework • Once you have the short-term goals, can develop the medium-term goals goals • These flow from the short-term goals; they are the consequence or so what of the short-term goals, e.g., • Increased awareness by high school coaches and players of local club and competitive opportunities

34. Performance Framework (Adapted from Steve Montague’s 3Rs of Performance, 1997.)

35. Developing the Framework • Based on the goals and outcomes, can then develop your strategies, activities and outputs needed to achieve the goals / outcomes, e.g., • develop and disseminate an outreach information package for use by clubs with high schools

36. Performance Framework (Adapted from Steve Montague’s 3Rs of Performance, 1997.)

37. Developing an Integrated Plan • Now that you have a performance framework, can develop the operational plan and the performance indicators • The operational plan builds on the key activities and outcomes • Responsibility • Timelines • Resources

38. Integrated Plan

39. Developing an Integrated Plan • Performance indicators describe observable, measurable characteristics or changes that represent production of an output or achievement of a goal or outcome, e.g., the number of outreach packages distributed (output), the number of high school players joining local clubs from “outreach” schools since the start of the initiative initiative • Can have both qualitative and quantitative indicators

40. Integrated Plan

41. Applying Performance-based Planning • Can be applied at all levels of the organization • Initiative / project, e.g., increased number of women officials at B and A levels by 25% • Program, e.g., increased number of women officials by 25% • Organization, e.g., increased number of girls and women participating in sport by 25% (strategic priority)

42. Performance Framework (Adapted from Steve Montague’s 3Rs of Performance, 1997.)

43. Performance Framework (Adapted from Steve Montague’s 3Rs of Performance, 1997.)

44. ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK(Adapted from Steve Montague’s 3Rs of Performance, 1997.)

45. Developing an Integrated Plan • Can then measure and report on progress using performance indicators • Will require thinking about how to capture the performance information • Where can we find the info • How will we collect it • Who should collect it • How often should we collect it

46. Making it Happen • Strategic planning is still important but most organizations do not have the underlying framework to successfully make it operational • Usually end up focusing on either the strategic plan (new priorities) or the operational plan (status quo)

47. Making it Happen • Depending on where you are in your planning cycle, can start with a top down or a bottom–up approach • top down focus through performance-based strategic planning and then apply to programs or projects • bottom-up focus through performance frameworks and plans at program and project level leading up to organizational framework and strategic planning exercise

48. Making it Happen • Adopting a performance-based approach to planning will take time • Phased approach over a planning cycle (4-5 years) allows you to learn as you go and avoids over-burdening • Understanding and commitment by senior leadership is key

49. Making it Happen • Build capacity of staff and volunteers gradually • Develop staff expertise and then volunteers • Doing is the best way of learning • Doesn’t have to be “perfect” • Ongoing support and coaching is key to success

50. Making it Happen • Ideal approach is with a small group over 2 days or smaller ½ day chunks • Develop program goals / outcomes (1/2 day to a full day, depending on size of program and number of “issues”) • Develop workplan • Develop indicators and measurement strategy • Refine and implement • Measure progress and adapt / refine as needed