Political Science, United States 

(Note: This is the 2009 edition. The 2015 edition of this book was released in early September, 2015. You can find the 2015 edition by searching on amazon.com for “Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough 10th Anniversary Edition".) Results Based Accountability (RBA) (also known as Outcomes Based Accountability (OBA) in the UK) can be used to improve the quality of life in communities, cities, counties, states and nations, including everything from the well-being of children to the creation of a sustainable environment. It can help government and private sector agencies improve the performance of their programs and make them more customer-friendly and effective. RBA is a common sense approach that replaces all the complicated jargon-laden methods foisted 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 methods, the book also makes a contribution to social theory by explaining the contribution relationship between program performance and community quality of life. As such it is a valuable tool for both program administrators and evaluators. The RBA framework has been used in over 40 states and countries around the world. - from Amzon