The project's called the pathway mapping initiative. She describes PMI as "an ambitious effort to put together what we know about what it takes to achieve a specified outcome." The first map that went on line was the Pathway to School Readiness.
The reason PMI especially intrigues me is that we have been encouraging similar mapping efforts - to good ends. Let me tell you about two examples from recent client engagements. First, as a part of the Washington State Price of Government/Priorities of Government effort, [1] leaders determined ten priority results citizens expect from Washington state government. Ten "results teams" were created. Each team was given a result to achieve and a bottom line allocation.
One of the first things we asked each team to do was to tell what best practice research and their professional judgment says leads to their assigned result. We encouraged them to draw a picture of the causal factors. One of the first questions asked back was, "What's a causal factor?" As it concerned the outcome of K-12 student achievement, I suggested parent involvement, quality instruction, and safety in the schools as examples of causal factors. The team leader responded, "Oh, you mean the things that we know make a difference in the outcome!" "Exactly," came back the reply, "but tell the story in less than 10 minutes - and include a visual!"
The teams produced different kinds of images - bubble diagrams, fish-bone charts, and process flows. But in each case, the cause- and- effect was evident. The pictures visually 'connected the dots' about what was known to work in accomplishing their assigned result. Here is one results map from the team charged with improving the health of Washingtonians.
What excites me about results maps is that they helped refocus the budget discussions from where to cut to where to spend - and why. Let's continue using the health example. Most budget processes ask questions such as: "Where are the cost increases occurring? What are our cost-containment strategies?" These questions ARE important. But results-budgeting maps ask a different question: "What leads to health?" The health team wrestled with what's key - seat belt use? preventive care? reducing teenage pregnancy? reducing obesity? mitigating environmental hazards? reducing accidents? better long-term care alternatives?
The team in Washington decided to move some of the state's money to mitigating environmental risks and away from adult health care coverage for one person at a time. You may not agree with their choice, but the point is that the purchasing strategy becomes the focus of the debate, not costs to be cut!
For another client in the Midwest, economists were asked by us to wrestle with what economic vitality really means. When mapping the factors, they realized that economic vitality for them boiled down to two things - "Were people working?" and "Were people earning?" Whether people were working depended on such factors as the availability of jobs and whether the people were employable. Whether jobs were available depended on business development and retention. You can see how the cause and effect chain is drawn. Their map follows. It was used to determine the economic indicators to measure and report on regarding this State's vitality.
What I think is truly cool about results mapping - and the pathways initiative - is that these visuals help make complexity understandable. Simply put, these visuals speak a thousand words. They lead to strategy easily, to budgeting decisions, and to measurement systems. They link together research-based knowledge and professional judgment to show what works in achieving results that citizens care about!
Let's get really good at this!
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