Managing for Development Results

In a time of global economic downturn, governments are increasingly looking for ways to ensure that their resources are used effectively. Managing for Development Results (MfDR) has emerged as a centrepiece of global efforts to improve the effectiveness of public resources and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). MfDR provides governments with a management philosophy, approach and set of tools for enhancing government performance and expanding accountability.

In most developing countries, the public sector is still operating without any strategic orientation towards development results. Results-focused activities, if they exist at all, usually remain singular, discrete and
unlinked. Some countries, however, such as Chile, Uganda and Vietnam, have undertaken serious efforts to implement results-based approaches to their development policies. Anecdotal evidence and published case studies suggest that these efforts are producing tangible benefits.

Examples such as these give hope for a broader move towards a new culture of public policy making – towards political leadership that is able to initiate a turnaround in its policies, to trigger a reform process, and to manage change. 

This Policy Brief aims to highlight the most important aspects and implications of the public policy strategy known as Managing for Development Results.