We are pleased to announce that the Results-Based Accountability™(RBA) framework has reached an exciting new milestone. Sales of the framework’s seminal text, Trying Hard is Not Good Enough, by Mark Friedman (the creator of RBA), have reached 75,000 worldwide! To us, this milestone proves that RBA is not just a fad. It is, in fact, a beloved and increasingly adopted framework that gets tangible results for organizations and communities. People are passionate about the power of this framework, and many of our clients even refer to themselves as “RBA Heads!” Considering the measurable successes of countless organizations, you can feel secure in adopting RBA and advocating its use.

Let’s celebrate this achievement with a brief history of RBA and take a look at some notable moments in its timeline:

The Origins of RBA

Mark Friedman established the Fiscal Policy Studies Institute (FPSI) in 1996 to help communities, cities, counties, states, and nations work to measurably improve the well-being of their residents. Since then, FPSI and Clear Impact have provided training and consultation on the Results-Based (or Outcomes-Based) Accountability framework in all 50 U.S. states and numerous countries worldwide. Participating countries include Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, The Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, and the U.K. Mark has also presented RBA at OECD headquarters in Paris, the OECD 3rd World Forum in South Korea in 2009, and the E.U. Going Local conference in Brussels in 2012. Parts of the RBA framework have been translated into at least ten different languages.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the many partners in those states and countries who have recognized the potential of RBA and helped advance its use. 

Before founding FPSI, Mark served for four years as a Senior Associate at the Center for the Study of Social Policy in Washington, D.C. The Center awarded Mark honorary status as Senior Fellow in 2009. Before working at the Center, Mark served for 19 years in the Maryland Department of Human Services (the state’s welfare and social services agency), including six years as the department’s Chief Financial Officer.

While RBA developed fully over the ten years following FPSI creation, RBA is sometimes considered to have officially launched in its complete form in 2005 with the release of Trying Hard is Not Good Enough: How to Produce Measurable Improvements for Customers and Communities. Mark published a second edition in 2009 and a 10th-anniversary edition in 2015.

About the Book

Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough is a “how-to” book for government and non-profit agencies and partnerships working at the city, county, state, and national levels to improve community quality of life and the performance of program services. RBA is a common-sense approach that replaces all the overly-complex and jargon-laden methods imposed on us in the past. The methods can be learned and applied quickly. And all the materials are free for use by government and non-profit organizations. In addition to providing practical strategies, the book also contributes to social theory by explaining the relationship between program performance and community quality of life. As such, it is a valuable tool for both program administrators and evaluators.

You can get your copy of Trying Hard is Not Good Enough at Amazon.com.

In addition to Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough, Mark has authored a sequel, Turning Curves: An Accountability Companion Reader (2015), as well as a wide range of papers on results-based decision making, budgeting, strategic planning, and financing. These and other publications can be found on the FPSI website: resultsaccountability.com. The Companion Reader is also available at Amazon.com.

Widespread Success and Implementation

Results-Based Accountability has grown steadily in use since its inception. Organizations worldwide have incorporated it into their work, resulting in a growing list of success stories that testify to its ability to transform and improve communities. You can see a plethora of RBA implementation examples in the two RBA books and also at the following locations:

If you’re interested in learning more about implementing RBA, you can also access more resources here.

The RBA Software is Created

Clear Impact was founded just two years after the release of Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough as a consultation group that offered expertise in RBA. At that time, no software existed for use specifically with the RBA framework. After two years of consulting, gathering feedback, and understanding the unique needs of public sector organizations better, our founders decided that there needed to be more RBA tools and support in place. This was when Clear Impact Scorecard came to fruition as a population and performance tracking software for organizations wanting to improve their RBA implementation.

Clear Impact Scorecard is the only software that specializes in RBA to this day. In addition, Clear Impact released Compyle, a case management software system that helps organizations support good front-line practices while generating valuable performance data. In 2017, Clear Impact began offering the RBA certification program, which allows organizations to develop their own RBA training capacity. More than 1,000 certificates have been awarded to staff in government and non-profit organizations across the country.